Martilda Darl Williams V. Mumuni Ayinde (1938)

LawGlobal Hub Judgment Report – West African Court of Appeal

Garnishee Proceedings—Money in custodia legis is property of Defendant and can only be attached by a creditor of his who has proceeded to judgment against him.

Held: Appeal dismissed.

There is no need to set out the facts.

O. Alakija for Appellant.

Respondent in person.

The following joint judgment was delivered:—

KINGDOM, C.J., NIGERIA, PETRIDES, C.J., GOLD COAST, AND GRAHAM PAUL, J.

The £7 7s. Od. in question in this appeal is money in custodia legis as the proceeds of execution of a writ of Fi Fa issued on behalf of the respondent. It is therefore the money of the respondent. Any creditor of the respondent desiring to attach this money in the hands of the Court can do so only by bringing a suit against the respondent and therein taking the proper steps to do execution against money of the respondent in custodia legis. It cannot be done by a creditor bringing a motion in the original suit to which he was not a party. It follows that the motion in which the Court below made the order which is the subject of this appeal was incompetent and should have been dismissed on that ground. The motion was dismissed by the Court below and the appeal against the order of dismissal must be—and is—dismissed by this Court without this Court expressing any view whatever as to the correctness or otherwise of the grounds given by the Court below for dismissing the motion.

The respondent is awarded costs assessed at half a guinea.