Robinson v. Baker

JAMES, J.

This appeal is taken from an order denying a motion made in the superior court by defendant T. A. Baker for a new trial after an adverse judgment had been entered against him.

At the times material to this controversy Baker was sheriff •of the county of Kern. As such sheriff there had been placed in his hands a writ of attachment in an action brought by this plaintiff, Robinson, against one Valentine. Acting under ■ written direction of Robinson’s attorney, Baker caused a levy to be made upon certain real estate standing in the name of Valentine. It appears that at the time this attachment was levied negotiations were pending for the sale of the same real estate, and money had been deposited in escrow to an amount more than equaling the demand of Robinson in his suit

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against Valentine. The agent of the proposed purchasers discovered the existence of the lien of the attachment and made effort to have the property cleared. They interviewed Baker, the sheriff, and it was suggested that the real estate be released and the attachment be placed upon the money which had been deposited as before mentioned. Baker, after some talk with the attorney for Robinson, the plaintiff in the attachment suit, and possibly also with the plaintiff himself, released the real estate and levied or attempted to levy upon the money. For some reason the attachment did not hold as against the fund, and Robinson’s claim was not satisfied after judgment. This action was then brought against the sheriff to recover the amount of that judgment, the claim made being that Robinson was deprived of the security which he had obtained by the levying of the writ of attachment upon the real estate. It was alleged that the act of the sheriff in releasing the real estate was without the authority of the plaintiff. At the trial the defendant sought to prove that oral authorization had been given to the sheriff to release' the real estate and that the sheriff had acted under such authorization, which authorization the appellant contends was sufficient in law to protect the sheriff against the liability here sought to be enforced. The trial judge, after hearing the testimony as to the alleged oral instructions, ordered all of that testimony stricken out, holding that under the provisions of section 4166 of the Political Code the sheriff could only be protected in releasing an attachment, under the facts exhibited here, by justifying under written direction so to do made by the plaintiff or his attorney. A part of the testimony stricken out was that given by appellant Baker, as follows: "Well, the day that the release was made, I interviewed Mr. Foster [the attorney for Robinson] and asked him if be had any objections to me releasing the real estate and serving the attachment on two thousand dollars in cash that had been placed in Mr. McDonald’s hands in escrow to purchase this land, and he said that he considered the money better than the land, and so far as he was concerned, he had no objections to making the release, but he didn’t care to give me any written instructions, but he was willing to have me release the real estate and attach the money.” Section 4166 of the Political Code provides that "No direction or authority by a