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Walsh v. Woarms

Samuel Walsh v. Albert L. Woarms and Louis J. Lesser, Copartners Doing Trade and Business under the Firm Name or Style of D. S. Hess & Co.

Walsh v. Woarms, 109 A.D. 166 (1905)
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Court
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · State Appellate Courts
Decided
November 15, 1905
Judges
Rich
Citations
109 A.D. 16695 N.Y.S. 824
Headnotes
Assignment of claim—no action by assignor lies though claim reassigned after action brought. A plaintiff, who "has assigned his claim against the defendants, who have had notice of the assignment, cannot maintain an action thereon, as there is no claim then existing in his favor. Nor will a reassignment of said claim to plaintiff after the commencement of his- action create such cause of action, as the reassignment has no retroactive effect.
Summary
Appeal by the defendants, Albert L. Woarms and another, copartners doing trade and business tinder the firm name of style of D. S. Hess & Co., from a judgment of the County Court of Queens county in favor of the plain tiff, entered in the office of the clerk of the county of Queens on the 24th day of October, 1904, upon the verdict of a jury.

Syllabus and headnotes are prepared by the reporter or publisher, not the court, and are not part of the opinion.

Opinion of the Court — Rich

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Rich, J.:

The plaintiff has recovered a judgment against the defendants for a balance claimed to be due him upon a contract to supply certain labor and materials to defendants, for which they promised to pay §320, and from that judgment this appeal is taken.

Before the commencement of this action, plaintiff sold and assigned to the Acme Security Company all sums of money due or to become due upon the contract, and the following notice thereof was served upon the defendants:

“ Gentlemen.— Please take notice that Mr. Samuel Walsh has. this day assigned to the Acme Security Company, of 289 4th Avenue, Hew York City, the sum of three hundred and twenty dollars (§320.00) less such sum of money as may be withheld by D. S. Hess & Co. for labor furnished as per a certain contract existing between said D. S. Hess & Co. and Samuel Walsh for work and material to be furnished in the building cor. of 63rd street and Central Park West, known as the Ethical Culture Building, and that your indebtedness per said contract will be payable' to the said Acme Security Company.

“ A'CME SECURITY COMPANY.

“(Signed) per K. G. Hevih, Secty.

“ Above O. K.

“ (Signed) Sam Walsh.”

It also appears'that the claim in suit was subsequently, but not until after the commencement, of this- action, reassigned to the plaintiff.

We are not called upon to consider the relations existing between the plaintiff and the Acme Security Company. The claim in suit was properly assigned to the company, and notice thereof was given to the defendants, and their failure to pay any ..one other than the *168 assignee of the claim, was' excusable; and yet, because of their refusal to do so they are charged with the costs of this action. The judgment must be reversed upon the ground that at the time of the commencement of the suit no cause of action existed in favor of the plaintiff, and the reassignment did not have the. retroactive, effect: of creating one. (Ervin v. Oregon Railway & Nav. Co., 28 Hun, 269 .)

The'judgment of the County Court of Queens county must--he reversed,, with costs. ■ .

Hirschberg, P. J., Woodward,. Jenks and Miller, JJ., concurred.

Judgment of. the County Court of Queens county reversed and ' new trial ordered, costs to abide the final award of costs..

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

1910: 11912: 11919: 11933: 11948: 119102026peak 1910 · 1

Relies on it most ⓘ

  1. Selleck v. Manhattan Fire Alarm Co.121 N.Y.S. 587 (1910)
  2. Joffe-Mayer Co. v. Raden134 N.Y.S. 1037 (1912)
  3. Collins v. McWilliams185 A.D. 712 (1919)
  4. In re Federman149 Misc. 4 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1933)
  5. Michael v. State192 Misc. 464 (1948)

Most recent

  1. Michael v. State192 Misc. 464 (1948)
  2. In re Federman149 Misc. 4 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1933)
  3. Collins v. McWilliams185 A.D. 712 (1919)
  4. Joffe-Mayer Co. v. Raden134 N.Y.S. 1037 (1912)
  5. Selleck v. Manhattan Fire Alarm Co.121 N.Y.S. 587 (1910)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 0

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