Rorke v. Walton
Rorke v. Walton
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
On January 4th, 1894, the plaintiff in this action, Allen B. Rorke, recovered a judgment in this court against the defendant, F. Theodore Walton, and an exe
On Januaiy 9th, 1895, the defendant, Walton, applied for and obtained a. rule to.show cause why the judgment should not be vacated and the; supplementary proceedings set aside. Evidence has been taken on this rule, and it appears that the basis of the claim of the defendant for. relief is, that on January 30th, 1894,. the plaintiff, with other creditors of Walton, agreed with him that they would extend.the time of the payment of their respective claims against him,-so that the whole amount thereof should be paid in installments, with interest at six per centum per annum—that is, twenty per cent, on January 31st, 1895, and twenty per cent, in each of the four years thereafter at the same date. An agreement of this .character in writing was executed by the plaintiff, and some others, if not all, of the creditors of the defendant. The formal execution of this agreement is admitted by the plaintiff, and it, and the circumstances surrounding, its execution, .and the relations in respect to this matter of the. plaintiff and defendant, constitute the evidence before the.court .upon this rule. . -
Treating this agreement as valid and binding, the defendant insists that by the force of its terms it applies to and
On the part of the plaintiff the validity of this agreement is attacked on the ground that the plaintiff was induced to execute it upon the representation that all the creditors of the defendant were to be parties to it, and that, in fact, a large number of the creditors did not become parties to it; that, therefore, whatever its effect may be, its execution by the plaintiff was induced by fraud and false representations, and for these reasons it never became operative, nor was it ever intended to be of any force or effect.
It has not been found at all necessary in this case to discuss or decide the question whether, under the circumstances developed in the evidence, this agreement is valid and binding upon the parties, and no opinion is expressed upon this point. It may, for the purposes of the determination of this rule, be assumed to have been an effective and binding con-, tract between the parties and operative according to the terms incorporated therein.
But it is in no sense an agreement on the part of the plaintiff to waive his judgment or to discharge it, but only to give time and accept its payment in stated installments. It is no more a waiver or discharge of the judgment of the plaintiff than it is a waiver or satisfaction of his original debt due him from the defendant. The claim of the plaintiff remained incorporated in his judgment against the defendant, and the inherent force and efficacy of the judgment still subsisted, and its validity and regularity were in nowise affected. It still stood uncontested, with no part thereof relinquished or remitted, and if it was not paid within the time and according to the mode provided in the agreement the plaintiff was at liberty to enforce it by the orderly and regular course of procedure' to enforce judgments.
If this agreement possessed any validity at all-in this respect, this was the time it should have been asserted and enforced. He was then obliged to assert it or lose the benefit of it, because the position of the plaintiff was at all times changing. It is impossible to regard his conduct in any other light than as entirely acquiescent, and thereby disentitling himself to the aid of the court. The enforcement of his rights in this matter and in regard to these proceedings has been barred by his laches and the court cannot now aid him. He was fully aware of the character of his legal rights under this agreement and of the infringement upon them. "With this knowl
Whether such right of action exists, no opinion is expressed.
The rule must be discharged, with costs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.