Page:Pitcock v. State.pdf/7

Rh Upon the affidavit filed by the plaintiff setting forth the issuance and violation of said injunction, Pitcock was cited by the chancellor to appear and show cause why he should not be punished for contempt, and upon a hearing he was adjudged by the chancery court to be in contempt on account of having violated said injunction, and a fine of $500 was imposed upon him. The record has been brought here by writ of certiorari to review the action of the chancery court in adjudging Pitcock to be in contempt and imposing the fine upon him.

It is earnestly insisted on behalf of appellant that the evidence introduced at the hearing does not sustain the finding of the chancellor that appellant was informed of the issuance of the writ of injunction prior to the service on him on January 18, 1909, or that he had violated the injunction after being notified thereof. We are convinced, however, from a careful consideration of the testimony adduced at the hearing, that Pitcock, after receiving actual notice of the issuance of the injunction, evaded the service of the writ by the sheriff, and intentionally violated its terms by withdrawing the convicts from the premises and works of said plaintiff, pursuant to the resolution adopted by the Board of Penitentiary Commissioners. Actual notice of the issuance of the injunction, without formal service of the writ upon him, was sufficient to put him in contempt of the court by violating the terms of the writ, if the court possessed jurisdiction of the cause. Kirby's Dig. § 3984; 1 Joyce on Injunctions §§ 247-249, 251; High on Injunctions §§ 352, 353. We therefore treat as settled the fact that appellant Pitcock intentionally violated the injunction; and the only remaining question is whether or not the court had jurisdiction, for it is well settled that errors of the court in issuing an injunction cannot be taken advantage of by one who has violated the injunction.

If the court had the jurisdiction of the parties and subject-matter of the cause of action in which the injunction was issued, the fact that it was erroneously and improvidently issued does not excuse disobedience on the part of those who are bound by its terms. Meeks v. State, 80 Ark. 579.

In considering this question, the distinction must not be overlooked between the violation of a preliminary injunction