Greene v. Tripp
Supreme Court of Rhode Island
Case against the defendant as garnishee. Heard by the court. The plaintiffs sued one Isaac Austin,1 by writ dated November 10, 1870, service thereof being made on Austin by summons, and on the city of Providence by process of foreign attachment. Judgment was given for the plaintiff, but as the city of Providence denied the validity of the process against it, this action was brought.
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Case against the defendant as garnishee. Heard by the court. The plaintiffs sued one Isaac Austin,1 by writ dated November 10, 1870, service thereof being made on Austin by summons, and on the city of Providence by process of foreign attachment. Judgment was given for the plaintiff, but as the city of Providence denied the validity of the process against it, this action was brought. When the writ against Austin was issued, a statute, Public Laws, cap. 857, § 4, March 31, 1870, was in force, providing that “No attachment of property shall be made upon mesne process, unless an affidavit of the…
1Opinion of the CourtDureee, C. J.
We have come to the conclusion that the affidavit in the original action was not such as was required to authorize an attachment. The statute required such an affidavit to set forth the existence of certain facts. The affidavit made, as to some of those facts at least, simply sets forth the affiant’s belief in their existence. This was not enough. The statute is to be strictly construed. A person might be willing to swear to his belief when he would not be willing to swear positively. And it would be more difficult to convict him of perjury for a false oath to his belief than for a false oath…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Whitney v. BrunetteWisconsin Supreme Court · 1862
- Carter v. DowWisconsin Supreme Court · 1862
- Schoppenhast v. BollmanIndiana Supreme Court · 1863
3Cited by1 opinion
- Washington Trust Co. v. BishopSupreme Court of Rhode Island · 1951