GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY v. C. H. MARTIN, Constable et als., 99 W. Va. 519

Summary

The landlords and constable maintained that the contract under which the goods were consigned by the electric company to the landlords' tenant provided for a conditional sale of goods, and that the tenant was a "trader" under W. Va. Code ch. 100, § 13, and that any property brought upon the premises, acquired or used in its business, was subject to the landlords' distress. The court found that there was an agency relationship between the electric company and the tenant and that the tenant was a "trader" under the statute. Therefore, the property was, by express provision of the statute, liable for the debts of the tenant and could be in all respects treated in favor of its creditors as its property. The court concluded, however, that the goods distrained in this case did not fall within the provisions of W. Va. Code ch. 93, § 11 as goods being liable to distress.