J.b. Hunt, LLC, Appellant v. Robert B. Thornton; Frieda v. Thornton; Robert B. and Frieda v. Thornton, as Trustees…

Summary

The court affirmed dismissal of J.B. Hunt’s complaint seeking to attach the Thorntons’ future trust distributions through an equitable proceeding. Because the distributions were contingent on the Thorntons’ survival, they were not presently reachable by garnishment, but they would become reachable when due; therefore, the statutory equitable procedure was unavailable because another legal process remained available. The court did not reach J.B. Hunt’s challenge to the subsequent garnishment orders. Justice Hart, dissenting and joined by Justice Baker, would have held that the creditor’s-bill procedure was available because garnishment could not presently reach the equitable interests.