Hall v. Green
Hall v. Green
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The complicated facts set forth in the bill, which is demurred to, rpay, for the purpose of adjudication, be compressed into the following statement. In 1866, Lacey Williams, for the purpose of defrauding his minor niece, Mary Ellen Green, to whom he was largely indebted, sold his entire estate, and by collusion with his brother, Sampson Williams, invested the
The notes remaining unpaid, as was contemplated by the brothers, a sale took place under their trust-deed, and the land was noininally sold to Margaret Williams, to whom the trustee executed a deed to the entire tract. Things remained in this condition, Lacey occupying the hundred acres assigned to him, and Sampson and wife the remainder, until Lacey, Sampson, and Margaret successively died, all of them childless and intestate. After the death of Margaret her heirs at law sold the land to defendant Hall, who now holds and occupies it.
But previous to the death of any of the parties, suit had been brought and judgment rendered in favor of the niece, Mary Ellen Green, suing by her guardian against Lacey Williams for more than $20,000. This judgment was rendered in the Circuit Court of the United States of the Southern District of Mississippi, sitting at Jackson. Hall’s purchase from the heirs of Margaret Williams was some years subsequent to this judgment, which, however, had not then nor has it since been enrolled in Issaquena County, where the land is situated. Several executions, were issued on the judgment, one of which was returned as having been levied on this land, but no.sale of it was attempted. The judgment plaintiff having come of age and married, and despairing of recovering anything'upon her judgment, at length, in 1879, sold it for a mere pittance to Mrs. Gibbons, the principal complainant in this bill. The bill, which was filed in 1880, more than seven years after the rendition of the judgment, seeks to reach and
As' to the balance of the land covinously conveyed to Margaret Williams, and by her heirs sold to defendant Hall, there would ordinarily be a remedy; but two considerations stand in the way in the present case. The judgment was never enrolled in the county where the land is situated, and the settled doctrine of this court is that judgments of the Federal coui'ts have no lien in this State except in the counties in which they have been rendered or enrolled.
The land was not subject to a levy under a judgment against Lacey Williams, who had nothing but an equity in it ; but even if it had been, no levy was made upon it until after the purchase by defendant Hall. If, therefore the laud had been the actual property of Lacey Williams, Hall would have gotten a perfect title by his purchase. Being equitable assets, however, the right to subject them did not depend upon the lien, which could not exist, but upon some complicity or knowledge upon the part of Hall of the fraud practised upon the judgment-creditor. There is an attempt to charge such knowledge, but it is insufficient. It is only averred, as to Hall, that he knew that Sampson Williams’ wife was insane and that he owed her nothing. It is not charged that he knew of
But even if these charges had been made the bill cannot be maintained. More than seven years intervened between the rendition of the judgment and the filing of the bill and conse-quenty it constituted no lien on any property of any sort. It was valueless except as affording the basis for the issuance of executions or the bringing of a new suit. Buckner v. Pipes, 56 Miss. 366.
Where the lien of a judgment is gone a court of equity will not lend its aid to enforce it, as to the legal estate of the debtor, then or previously owned, and by a parity of reasoning, where the time which will bar it as to the legal estate has elasped, the court will decline to lend its sanction to the attempt to reach equitable assets. Fleming v. Grafton, 54 Miss. 79 ; Partee v. Matthews, 58 Miss. 140.
Decree reversed, demurrer sustained, and bill dismissed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- J. C. Hall v. J. B. Green
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Chancery. Bill to subject equitable assets. Knowledge of fraud. Bar of remedy. Case in judgment. L., for the purpose of defrauding E., a minor, to whom he was indebted, sold his entire estate, and with the proceeds bought certain promissory notes made by his brother, S., and nominally transferred them to M., the wife of the latter, and who was insane. S.', participating in the fraud, executed a deed on land which he owned to secure the payment of the notes, and at the same time verbally gave to L. one hundred acres of the land, and put him in possession of it, but without any written evidence of title., The land was sold under the deed of trust and nominally bought by M., on the 1st of March, 1870. On the 25th of May, 1873, E., through her guardian, recovered a judgment, in the Federal court, against L.; but it was not rendered in the county where the property is situated, and was never enrolled in that county. In a few years thereafter, L., S., and M. had all died; and thereupon the heirs at law of M. sold and conveyed the land to H. Several executions were issued upon E.’s judgment, and the last one was' returned, as having been levied on a part of this land, but that was after it had been sold to H. G-. bought E.’s judgment, and, on the 28th of May, 1880, filed a bill against H. to subject the land to the judgment, as the equitable assets of L.’s estate. The only averment of knowledge of the fraud on the 'part of H. was that he knew S.’s wife was insane, and that S. owed her nothing. The bill was de.murred to. Held, that the bill is not maintainable (1) because the charge of knowledge on the part of H. was not sufficient; and (2) because the time having elapsed in which the lien of the judgment would have expired if there had been any, a court of chancery will not enforce the judgment against equitable assets. 2. Judgment. Federal judgment. Effect of failure to enroll. Under the statute of this State requiring the enrollment of judgments in order to create a lien, the judgment of a Federal court has no lien on propertj' of the defendant situated in a county where the judgment was not rendered, and where it has not been enrolled.