Drew v. Superior Court of Mendocino County

WILBUR, J.

The petitioner seeks to have an order of the superior court of Mendocino County, adjudging him guilty of contempt of court, annulled. A judgment for $7,150 having been rendered in that court against the L. E. White Lumber Company, a corporation, and execution having been returned unsatisfied, an order was made by said court requiring the corporation and the petitioner, F. C. Drew, as president thereof, to appear and answer concerning its property. The order was served upon the petitioner, who failed to appear for examination, and no appearance was made fot or on behalf of the corporation. The petitioner was thereafter adjudged guilty of contempt for failing to obey said order. Petitioner claims that the court was without authority to issue the order directing him to appear and testify; that section 714 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that the order shall be directed to the “judgment debtor.” Petitioner contends that the court could only require the corporation, the “judgment debtor, ’ ’ to attend for examination, and that if the presence of officers of the corporation was required, they must be summoned as witnesses under the provisions of section 718 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

[1]

It is a sufficient answer to petitioner’s contention to say that it was his duty, as president of the corporation, upon being served with an order directing the corporation to appear at a time and place specified for examination, to have personally appeared at that time and place for examination, and his failure to do so, even in the absence of an express direction that he, personally, should so appear, was a contempt of the order of the court. In

Wilson

v.

United Sates, 221

U. S. 361, [Ann. Cas. 1912D, 558, 55 L. Ed. 771, 31 Sup. Ct. Rep. 538, see, also, Rose’s U. S. Notes]), the supreme court of the United States had under consideration a

[713]

similar question as to whether or npt a president of a corporation was guilty of contempt of court in refusing to produce books of the corporation in his possession, in response to a subpoena