Lyons v. Importers' & Traders' National Bank

Citations

• 214 Pa. 428
• 63 A. 827
• 1906 Pa. LEXIS 675

Syllabus

<p>Equity — -Bill of peace — Vexatious litigation — Attachment execution — Injunction — Restraining litigation in Federal court.</p> <p>A, a bank, obtained judgment against B and issued an attachment in execution on it against C, as garnishee. C answered, admitting moneys in his hands, but alleging that they were claimed by D. D subsequently filed a bill in equity against C to compel an accounting to her, and a decree was made awarding her the money in C’s hands, which A had tried to reach by its attachment, for the reason that C was not indebted to B. During the pendency of the proceedings in equity between D and C, A issued a second attachment against C, as garnishee, to reach the same fund that it had attempted to reach by the first. Subsequently A issued a third attachment for the same purpose, naming C again as garnishee. A also filed a bill in equity against B, C and D, for the purpose of trying to get from C the money which it had attempted to reach by its attachments. It allowed its bill to be dismissed for want of prosecution. On an issue framed in the third attachment there was a verdict for the garnishee. Later on, A issued a fourth and a fifth attachment for the same purpose, again naming 0 as garnishee. It suffered voluntary nonsuits on its first two attachments, and a verdict was rendered in favor of the garnishee in the fourth and fifth. After this, A issued a sixth attachment for the same purpose,'again naming C as garnishee, and brought suit in the United States courts against C and -D to recover the moneys that had been judicially determined to be due from C to D. Held, that the litigation of A was vexatious, that the process of the court had been abused by it, and that D might maintain a bill of peace to restrain it from proceeding on its sixth attachment, and from issuing any other, writ to interfere with her collection of the money admitted by C to be due to her; but that she was not entitled to an injunction to restrain the bank from proceeding