State v. Stapel

Section 534, Rev. St. 1913, makes it a felony for the mortgagor of personal property to sell or dispose of any part thereof “to any person or body corporate” without the written consent of the mortgagee. Defendant was charged with a violation of this statute. The state proved that he had, without the consent of the mortgagee, sold and transferred a mortgaged automobile to a partnership. The trial court held that a partnership was not a “person or body corporate,” and dismissed defendant. The county attorney brings the case here for a review of this ruling.

It is apparent that the legislature…