Whitehead v. Henderson
Whitehead v. Henderson
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The plaintiff in error was summoned as a garnishee, in an attachment sued out by Waldron, Thomas & Co., by their agent, George W. Henderson, against the property of Charles A. Ely. He failed to appear, and a scire facias Avas aivarded, and again failing to answer, final judgment was rendered, Avhich he now seeks to reverse. In this aspect of the case, Ave cannot look into the errors in the judgment against Ely; that is not regularly before us. And yet if it Avere a void judgment, such an inquiry would be proper, because it Avould then be an insufficient foundation for the judgment against the garnishee, and would afford him no protection against his creditor. It Avould be his duty to resist collection under it. The. declaration against Ely was, no doubt, demurrable; but the judgment against him is certainly not absolutely void. Erroneous it may be, but as it is not void, and he acquiesces in it, the garnishee cannot complain. We are only, therefore, to examine the judgment against the garnishee. To this, however, there is an objection which we deem fatal. At the return term of the summons, the default of Whitehead was entered, but judgment nisi was not taken ; a scire facias was ordered without it. This is not in accordance with the statute. By the 24th section of the law in relation to attachments, (Stat. of Miss. 553,) if the garnishee fail to appear and answer, the court, after solemnly calling the garnishee, is required to enter a conditional judgment against such garnishee,
Judgment reversed, and cause remanded.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Isaac N. Whitehead v. George W. Henderson
- Status
- Published