Smith & Lennard v. Lard
Smith & Lennard v. Lard
Opinion of the Court
By the Court.
delivering the opinion.
Did the court err in refusing to grant the injunction ? We think not; we think that there was no equity in the bill.
It may be assumed that there was no equity in the bill, unless it was true, as alleged by the bill, that the sale of the land by the sheriff, to Gunn, was void. If that salé was good, the. land ceased to be Lard’s, and became Gunn’s, and therefore it is not now subject to the fi. fa.
Was that sale void? The complainants insist that it was, and the reason they give for so insisting is thus stated by them: “ because orators charge that the levy designates said property as that of said defendants, all of them, while the advertisement under which Gunn purchased, describes it as the property of Lard alone.”
But first, we do not find that this reason is true, in
The reason being, in point of fact, not true, there can be no valid conclusion from the reason. Consequently, the conclusion stated in the bill, that the sale to Gunn was void, cannot be a valid one.
But what is the true conclusion from the real facts, the facts as they are stated in the bill ? It is the opposite to that drawn in the bill — it is that the sale to Gunn was valid — for the facts as stated by the bill are that the property was levied on as Lard’s, was advertised as Lard’s, was sold as Lard’s, and was bought by Gunn as Lard’s. Consequently, it must be true, that the sale to Gunn was valid, if regularity in these respects could make the sale valid.
This would be enough to show that there is no equity in the bill as it stands, but we are by no means prepared to say that the sale was void, even if it were true, that the property was levied on as the property of all the four defendants, and was advertised and sold as the property of only one of them, Lard. The greater includes the less, the levied property, therefore, included the advertised and sold property. If the levy gave the right to sell the whole of what was levied on, why did it not give the right to sell a part? Who would be hurt by a sale of a part? The other part would still remain subject tobe sold. Gunn might still sell the interest of the three other
But, as before said, it is sufficient that it does not appear to be true, that the property was levied on. as the property of the “defendants, all four.”
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- SMITH & LENNARD v. LARD
- Status
- Published