Marshall v. Hart
Marshall v. Hart
Opinion of the Court
My the Court. Whether the judgment rendered against Randall on- the 17th of September, 1850, was authorized by the statute then in force, and if so, whether the lien thereof is taken away by subsequent legislation, are the important questions to be considered in this case.
The judgment was by confession, under the statute of Wisconsin, then in force here, which authorized the entry of a judgment, upon a plea of confession, signed by an attorney of the court upon filing with the clerk a declaration, plea of confession, and a copy of the bond, contract, or other evidence of the demand for which judgment is confessed, together with the authority for confessing such judgment, which, however, was required to be in some proper instrument, distinct from that containing the bond, contract, or other evidence of the demand. Laws of Wisconsin Territory of 1844, page 105.
TRandall, on the 9th of September, 1850, executed a bond to
It is now urged that there was no authority in the warrant to enter such a judgment, and it is alleged that there is an essential variance between the bond filed, and that recited in the warrant, because the bond is conditioned for the payment of two acceptances in favor of Pritchard, amounting to $3,000, while the warrant refers to a bond conditioned for the payment of $3,635.13, borrowed of Hart. ¥e are satisfied, however, that the bond referred to in the warrant, was the bond that was filed, and that the authority was substantially pursued.
The instruments are between the same parties, both executed the same day, and doubtless had reference to the same transaction. The drafts which the said Randall had accepted and
This judgment was suffered to remain upon the records of the court, without objection, until sometime in March, 1859, when the judgment creditor — no execution having been issued thereon within five years, — obtained leave of the court to issue an execution. This leave could only be granted after due notice to the Defendant. The judgment debtor afterwards moved to set aside the execution thus issued, but the motion was not granted. No other, or further proceedings were ever had to relieve against the j udgment, or correct any errors alleged in the proceedings, and the successor in interest of the judgment debtor, without an allegation of fraud in its rendition, orin any manner showing himself entitled to equitable relief, now asks that the j udgment should be declared a nullity on mere technical grounds.
The judgment is not a nullity. At the worst, it is merely irregular, and is good against the party until set aside, or reversed by direct proceedings upon appeal, or writ of error. Or, if it was taken against him through his mistake, inadvertance, surprise, or excusable neglect, and he could have so made it to_appear to the court, he might have been relieved at any time within a year after notice of the judgment. The time for appeal, or writ of error, has long since passed, and there is no pretense that he is entitled to relief on the ground of mistake, inadvertance, surprise, or excusable neglect. There should be an end to litigation. The judgment debtor has permitted the time to pass within which he could appeal to the remedies provided by statute. He could have resisted on proper grounds, the issuing of the execution. He let that
The law in force at the time this judgment was rendered, made it a lien from the time of its rendition, on all the real property of the judgment debtor, in the county, which he then had or might thereafter acquire, and limited the time within which the execution could be issued thereon to two years, except by leave-of the court. In 1851, however, the legislature passed an “Act for revising and consolidating the general Statutes of the Territory,” wherein it is recited in the preamble that “ it is expedient that the general Statutes of the Territory should be consolidated and m'rangedm appropriate chapters, articles and sections, that omissions and defects therein should be supplied and amended, .and the whole should be rendered concise, plain and intelligible.” By this act the then existing Statutes were consolidated in one general law, omitting, however, such acts and parts of acts as the Legislature did not wish to retain, and supplying omissions, and making such other changes as seemed necessary, and by a general clause — Sec. 1, Chap. 137 — all former acts then in force, except those thereinafter particularly named, were repealed.
This act made no alteration in regard to the lien of judgments, except to limit its duration to ten years, to make it commence from the time of docketing it in the county, instead of the date of its rendition, and to extend the time for issuing execution from two years to five years. But the Plaintiff here contends that the repeal of the old law, by the general clause before referred to, destroyed the lien which might otherwise have attached to the judgment, and that the saving clause found in section four of the last chapter of the act does not reach this case, because the judgment debtor not having acquired the property in question until after the repeal, there was nothing for the lien to attach to while the law was in existence.
The object of this act, as its title imports, and as is clearly expressed in the preamble, was to furnish to the people of the Territory, in one plain, concise and intelligible act, all the laws then in existence, and to amend the same by striking out such acts or parts of acts, and adding such new provisions as our circumstances required, or were necessary to make the whole consistent with itself. Its effect was merely to amend the existing laws by repealing certain parts, and inserting or adding others, leaving that which was re-enacted as if it had never been disturbed. This all might have been done directly by amendments to the old Statutes, but the Legislature effected the object and avoided much confusion, by re-enacting wbafr they wished to retain, with such additional chapters and sections as they desired, and by a general clause repealing all former Statutes, not specially enumerated — evidently intending by the repeal, to do no more than repeal such acts and parts of acts, as were not re-enacted in the consolidated act, and expressly providing that all acts done, rights accrued or established, suits or proceedings had or commenced under the former laws, should remain as valid and effectual as if the provisions so repealed had remained in force. Sec. 4, Chap. 137. A similar question was presented for our consideration in Holcombe vs. Tracey, 2 Minn. 241; and we there held that the act of 1851 should not be treated as an original act, but as amendatory of, and to-be construed with reference to the former laws.
As before remarked, the provisions of the old law making judgments a lien on after acquired real estate, was retained,, the lien, however, dating from the time of docketing the judgment. This judgment was docketed, substantially, according to the new law, although the docketing was not necessary to the lien according to the law -then in force. And can we reasonably suppose that the Legislature intended by this act to'
We are of opinion that the repealing clause of the act -of 1851 affected only such parts of the old Statutes as were not retained in the new. That the lien of judgments then existing was not thereby destroyed; and were it otherwise, that the repeal would affect only such as were not docketed, and that the lien would again attach, by complying with the new law, from the time of the docketing.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Joseph M. Marshall, in Error v. Henry N. Hart, in Error
- Status
- Published