Ward v. Pacific Mutual Life Insurance

McFARLAND, J.

This is an appeal by the plaintiff from a judgment in favor of the defendants and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

This action was brought by the plaintiff as receiver of an insolvent Illinois corporation, called the Republic Life Insurance Company. Plaintiff was appointed receiver by a court of the state of Illinois, under a statute of that state. He commenced this action in the superior court of California against the defendant the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company, a corporation of this state. The alleged cause of action is based

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on a policy of insurance issued by said defendant on the life of one Crowell, and payable to the said Republic Life Insurance Company of Illinois, of which petitioner is receiver. Crowell died, and proper proof of his death was made. The Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company admitted its liability on the policy, but declined to pay, because -the amount to be paid thereon had been garnisheed in an attachment suit brought in the superior court of San Mateo County, in this state, by John T. Doyle, a resident of this state, against said Republic Life Insurance Company of Illinois. It set up these facts in its answer, and prayed that it be allowed to pay the amount into court, and that Doyle be brought in as a substituted defendant, and an order to that effect was made. Doyle appeared and answered, and set up his action against the Republic Life Insurance. Company, the issuance of a writ of attachment therein, the garnishment of the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company, and the fact that he had obtained judgment in the said action.

The first point made by respondents is, that an action by a foreign receiver cannot be maintained here against a domestic creditor claiming the same fund, situated here, of the insolvent foreign corporation, which is sought to be appropriated by the receiver of such corporation. As we think that this contention of respondents must be sustained, it will not be necessary to consider the various other contentions made by the parties.

All the rights and powers of the plaintiff in the premises, as receiver, are derived from the statute of Illinois, and are confined to the territorial jurisdiction of that state; the statute in question has no force in California. It is true that a receiver appointed under the laws of one state will sometimes be allowed, by comity, to maintain a suit involving property in another state, where there are no claims or interest of the citizens of the latter state to be considered, but not where there are conflicting claims of domestic creditors to the property or fund who are pursuing their remedies under the statutes of the other state. There are numerous authorities to this point; but as this court has had occasion to declare the rule in