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Bowen v. Smidt

49 N.Y. St. Rep. 647 Court N.Y. Gen. Term Decision date 1892-11-18 English

Delivered by Van Brunt, P. J.

Contents

Majority

p. 647
Calvin C. Bowen, Resp’t, v. Allan Lee Smidt, App’lt.
(Supreme Court, General Term, First Department,
Filed November 18, 1892.)

Headnote

Attorneys—Summary proceedings against.
Where a client has assigned to a third person his claim for moneys col-
p. 648
lectcd for him, of which fact the attorney has received notice, the attorney cannot he compelled by summary process to pay over such moneys.
Appeal from an order directing the defendant, an attorney, to pay within five days the sum of $175 to the complainant or his attorney.
James B. Reilly, for app’lt; J. D. Hallen, for resp’t.

Although it seems probable that the appellant owes the money in question, yet we do not think that the court should have made the order directing its payment to the respondent, in the face of the notice of the assignment of the claim given by the respondent and the claim made by the assignee. Such assignee seems to have the right to collect this money from the appellant, which he cannot do in a proceeding of this nature, as the relation of attorney and client has never existed between them.

The order appealed from must be reversed, and the proceeding dismissed, with ten dollars costs and disbursements of the appeal.

O’Briew and Barrett, JJ., concur.