Hawkins & Co. v. McAlister

Mississippi Supreme Court April 15, 1905

Hawkins & Co. v. McAlister, 86 Miss. 84 (Miss. 1905)

Teuly

Opinion of the Court

Teuly, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The judgment of the plaintiff in attachment, Hawkins & Company, against McAlister, the defendant in attachment, ren*87dered lay the justice of the peace, was not void on account of the irregularity in the process. No strict adherence to form is absolutely necessary in summoning a defendant to answer a suit instituted against him. In the case at bar a summons for McAlister was personally served in due time, and the fact that the return of the officer was made upon a summons not directed to him, hut to another officer, who had failed to execute it, does not affect the validity or regularity of the service. It should he noted that McAlister did not appeal from this judgment, and a mere informality in the service of process as to him cannot avail the claimant.

Reversed and remanded.

Reference

Full Case Name: Hawkins & Company v. William R. McAlister, Jacob A. Waldrop
Cited By: 1 case
Status: Published
Syllabus: Attachment. Judgment by default. Collateral attack. Informality. Process. Service. Claimant. The judgment of á justice of the peace rendered by default is not void because predicated of an attachment writ, directed to “the constable or any lawful officer” of the justice’s county, by the sheriff of which county it was levied upon property and returned, with a showing that the defendant could not be found, and which was then sent to the sheriff of another county, without change in its address, who served the same personally on defendant and made due return; nor can a claimant of property seized thereunder avail of the informality in the process.