Davis v. Conley
Davis v. Conley
Opinion of the Court
An execution was issued in favor of Mrs. E. E. Conley against B. E. Davis et al. for the principal sum of $1500, plus interest, attorney’s fees and costs, and having therein a special lien on a certain described 228-acre farm. The execution was levied on the farm, and at the sale on September 6, 1932, the property “was knocked off to Mrs. E. E. Conley, she being the highest and best bidder, at and for the sum of $100.” On June 27, 1934, the fi. fa. was levied on an improved city lot as the property of B. E. Davis. Davis filed an affidavit of illegality alleging that “after the aforesaid execution was issued it was agreed by and between the plaintiff Mrs. E. E. Conley and the defendants that said execution should be levied on the farm of 228 acres described therein, and that the said Mrs. E. E. Conley should bid in said farm at and for the sum of $100, or more, if other outside parties bid against her, and that thereafter said farm should remain in the control of the said B. E. Davis with the privilege to him to sell said farm, and that if it should be impossible to sell said farm for the amount of said execution, that in that event the said B. E. Davis was to have the option of taking said property at an agreed price and thus settle the execution aforesaid;” that Davis had performed and is performing the agreement and turning over the rents to Mrs. Conley, and that she has no right to proceed upon said execution so long as he continues to perform the agreement. The plaintiff in execution made an oral motion to dismiss the affidavit of illegality for the reason that it set out no defense or ground of illegality. Davis then offered an amendment to his affidavit of illegality, alleging in the amendment that “the farm levied on and sold under the execution in the above case to
There are no sufficient allegations in the original affidavit of illegality to show that the execution is proceeding illegally or to constitute any legal defense to the procedure. The alleged agreement is not definitely set out, and it is not shown whether it was a parol or written agreement. It is not shown that any valid consideration flowed to the plaintiff in fi. fa. It provides that the execution should be levied on the farm, but this was plaintiff’s privilege under the law without an agreement. It provides that she should bid it in for $100, "or more, if outside parties bid against her,” but it is by no means unusual for a plaintiff in fi. fa. to buy in the property levied on at as low a figure as possible, having the privilege of bidding as high as the amount of the execution and the value of the property would justify, and the defendant having the privilege of making the property bring what it is worth. So far as the original affidavit of illegality shows, the alleged arrangement between the plaintiff and the defendant would continue forever, as no time limit is shown. It is alleged that "B. E. Davis was to have the option of taking said property at an agreed price and thus settle the execution aforesaid,” but it is not shown when the option was to terminate or what was the agreed price he was to pay. The illegality does not show that there has been a settlement of the execution, or just what the defendant was to do to settle the execution. The oral motion to dismiss the
The case of Monroe v. Security Mutual Insurance Co., 127 Ga. 549 (56 S. E. 764), relied on by the plaintiff in error, is distinguished by its facts from the case sub juclice. It may well be noted that in the Monroe case the parties entered into an agreement before judgment was rendered, and by the terms of this agreement the defendant withdrew his defense and permitted judgment to be taken and execution issued. In the instant case judgment and execution had already been obtained by the plaintiff before the alleged agreement was made. This distinction is material in showing that a definite and complete settlement was agreed upon by the parties in the Monroe case, and there was a consideration flowing to each party. We do not hold, however, that a binding agreement could not have been made after judgment and execution but'before levy, because “an affidavit of illegality, under our system, if the facts are set forth, may bring up any good reason why it will be illegal to raise the money.” Shorter v. Moore, 41 Ga. 691, 695. The controlling difference between the Monroe case and the instant case is that in the former there was a definite, valid and binding agreement, the terms of which were fully set out, and the illegality was held defective only because it failed to allege that the "affiant had complied with the agreement; while in the instant case sufficient facts were not set forth in the alleged agreement, and the agreement was vague, indefinite, uncertain, and lacking in those qualities essential to a valid contract capable of enforcement.
The court did not err in disallowing the proffered amendment, in striking and dismissing the original affidavit of illegality, and in directing the execution to proceed.
Judgment affirmed,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.