Scherr v. Little

Citations

• 60 Cal. 614
• 1882 Cal. LEXIS 517

Syllabus

<p>Construction of Contract—Attachment—Reasonable Time.—The defendant in this case, as sheriff, under a writ of attachment, at the suit of the plaintiff, seized $1,399.11 coin as the property of the judgment debtor which was claimed by one S.; who on the same day brought suit for its recovery. The defendant having demanded indemnity, the plaintiff gave him a bond and also signed a written agreement that the defendant might retain for a reasonable time all moneys that might come into his hands by reason of said attachment or any execution to be issued in said action. After the plaintiff recovered judgment, the Court—pending the suit of S. against the defendant—made an order directing the sheriff, upon the delivery to him of a written undertaking approved by the Court in the sum of $1,800, to pay into Court, or to his successor in office holding the execution, the money taken under the attachment.</p> <p>Held: The reasonable time stipulated for in the contract is tobe considered with reference to the fact that S. claimed the money, and might endeavor to establish that claim in the Courts. The plaintiff by his agreement has authorized the defendant to rely for his security against the claim of S. not only on the bond but on the money, and he is not entitled to the order while the action of S. is pending.</p>