Henrietta Mining Milling Company v. Johnson

by Henry Billings Brown

United States Supreme Court

173 U.S. 221

Henrietta Mining Milling Company  v.  Johnson

This was an action institued by Johnson in the district court of Yavapai county, Ariz., to obtain a judgment against, and to establish a lien upon, the property of the mining company, an Illinois corporation, for work and labor done, and material furnished, and to fix the priority of such lien over certain other lienholders, who were also made defendants. The plaintiff, in an affidavit annexed to the complaint, made oath that 'H. N. Palmer is the general manager of the said Henrietta Mining & Milling Company, and in charge of the property of the said company in the said sounty of Yavapai,' and that said company 'has no resident agent in the said county of Yavapai and territory of Arizona, as is required by law, and this affiant causes a copy of this notice of lien to be served upon the said H. N. Palmer, as the general manager of said company.'

A summons was issued, and a return made by the sheriff that he had 'personally served the same on the 9th day of July, 1894, on the Henrietta Mining & Milling Company, by delivering to H. N. Palmer, superintendent and general manager of said company, * * * being the defendants named in said summons, by delivering to each of said defendants personally, in the city of Prescott, county of Yavapai, a copy of summons, and a true copy of the complaint in the action named in said summons, attached to said summons.'

Default having been made, judgment was entered against the company personally, with a further clause that plaintiff have a lien upon its property in the sum of $5,748.57. The case was taken to the supreme court of the territory by writ of error, where the judgment was modified by striking out the lien upon the property, and in all other respects was affirmed, and a new judgment entered against the sureties upon the supersedeas bond.

Whereupon the mining and milling company sued out a writ of error from this court, insisting, in its assignments of error, that 'the said court below did not have jurisdiction of the person of defendant, for the reason that no service had been had upon said defendant, either personal or constructive.' W. H. Barnes and Frank Asbury Johnson, for appellant.

E. M. Sanford, for appellee.

Mr. Justice BROWN, after stating the facts in the foregoing language, delivered the opinion of the court.

Notes