Commercial Bank of Manchester v. Doe on demise Martin
Commercial Bank of Manchester v. Doe on demise Martin
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
This was an action of ejectment brought by the heirs of John Martin against the Bank, to recover a certain lot of ground. The plaintiffs gave in evidence an entry made by their ancestor in the land-office for the premises, proved his death, and that they were his heirs, and there rested the cause. The defendant, in the language of the bill of exceptions, then introduced the records of the probate court, and read the different proceedings had thereupon, and the final order of sale by the
No part of the argument in this court rests upon the exception, but the whole is directed to the attack or defence of the record óf the probate court. Yet the propriety of the exclusion of the other testimony, is the only direct point, which the record presents.
It is insisted in argument that the whole proceedings in the probate court, as set out in the record, are void; that the sale under them is void, and consequently that the derivative title of the defendant is void. But these questions were not presented in the court below at all-; the record was read without objection, and if the questions had been there raised, those matters might possibly have been supplied, 'the absence of which, it is now urged, makes the whole void. It is said it was right to exclude the sheriff’s deeds, because the proceedings in the probate court were void. That point should have been presented by exceptions to the admission of that record. This court is called on to correct an error, of which neither party complained in the court below. This is against our usual mode of proceedings in questions of this kind, and would convert this into a court of original, not of appellate jurisdiction. See Doe v. Natchez Insurance Company, 8 S. & M. 205; Neely v. Planters Bank, 4 Ib. 113; Sessions v. Reynolds, 7 Ib. 130.
An order, judgment or decree is void, when rendered by a court, which has no jurisdiction of the subject-matter, or of the parties. Both must concur to make the proceeding valid. In this instance, the probate court clearly had jurisdiction of the subject-matter; whether it had jurisdiction of the parties
But it is said that in this case the first step was taken at a special term of the court, and that a guardian ad litem was then appointed, who was the person that subsequently appeared. This was a step of questionable propriety; but if notice was properly given afterwards, and no exception taken to this preliminary step, it would be going far to say, that the whole subsequent proceedings were void.
We are not prepared to say that the sale was valid; the proceedings in the probate court show great irregularity. But the exclusion of the title papers offered, cut short the defence. We give no opinion as to the validity of these proceedings. That is a matter which must be determined hereafter, perhaps with a fuller record. We only decide that as no question was raised upon these proceedings in the court below, and as they were read without objection, the deed of the administrator should also have been admitted.
Judgment reversed, and new trial awarded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.