Erickson v. Quinn
Erickson v. Quinn
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiffs, judgment creditors of O’Maley, in pursuing their remedy against the lands alleged to have been fraudulently conveyed to the defendant, had the choice of three-several proceedings. They might have sold the premises by execution on the judgment, and left the purchaser, after his title should become perfect by a deed from the sheriff, to contest the validity of the defendant’s title, in an action of ejectment; or, secondly, they might have issued their execution and brought their .action to remove the fraudulent obstruction, and awaited the result of the action before selling the property ; or, thirdly, they had the right, upon the return of an execution unsatisfied, to bring an action in the nature of a creditor’s bill, to have the conveyance to-the defendant adjudged fraudulent as against their judgment, and the lands sold by a receiver or other officer of the court, and the proceeds applied to the satisfaction of the judgment as equitable interests and things in nature of a judgment debtor are reached and applied to the satisfaction of judgments against them.
Chautauqua Co. Bank v. White, 1 Comst., 236, is authority for the last mentioned course of procedure, and Chautauqua Co. Bank v. Risley, 19 N. Y., 369, holding that a creditor pursuing his remedy in that form is liable to lose the priority of his lien by judgment, and must take title subject to all liens existing
But after the first trial of the action, and pending an appeal from the judgment, they issued an execution and advertised the property for sale, and a motion being made to set aside the execution upon some ground not disclosed, but evidently not for the reason that the two remedies were incompatible, it was agreed that no sale should be had until after the decision of the appeal. That judgment was reversed, and the-plaintiffs, relieved from their stipulation, then caused the property to be sold on their execution, and became-the purchasers for the full amount of their claim* From that time they seem to have treated the action as-brought and prosecuted to remove obstructions to their judgment and execution. If an execution in the hands of the sheriff was necessary to authorize the intervention of the court, that fact was not averred or proved, neither was any objection taken for the want of such averment and proof.
Whether the judgment being a lien, an execution was necessary to an action to remove a fraudulent obstruction and hindrance to its collection may be doubtful, but need not be decided (see Spear v. Wardell, 1 Comst., 144). The judgment of the referee upon the second trial was limited to a declaration and adjudication that the conveyance to the defendant was fraudulent and void as against the plaintiffs, and that their judgment was a lien upon the property described, and that judgment was affirmed by the supreme court and in this court. The defendant at no stage of the action objected that the judgment did not go far enough, in
Thé order appealed from must be affirmed.
All the judges concurred except Church, Ch. J., not voting.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- ERICKSON against QUINN
- Status
- Published