Hull v. Burson
Hull v. Burson
Opinion of the Court
The question argued is, is the surety in the undertaking, w7here the plaintiff fails, liable for costs in the common pleas? The record itself presents, also, a question as to his liability for costs made before the justice.
The proposition on which the contention of counsel for plaintiff in error rests is that a judgment w7hich may be the termination of an action is a final judgment, ending the controversy. Hence, w7here it is
Undoubtedly the term “judgment,” which is the final determination of the rights of the parties in action, implies a final judgment, and all of the costs of the action could not be ascertained until final judgment had been rendered, and if the section quoted is to be taken alone as expressive of the legislative will, then there is much force in the contention of plaintiff in error. But, it does not follow, necessarily, that the will and meaning of the laAV-making body is to be gathered from one section alone. On the contrary, we look to kindred sections upon the general subject, and expect to find the purpose expressed by a comparison of all of them.
Now, the subject matter in question is the securing by the plaintiff of the costs accruing in the court of common pleas. Eecurring to the section dealing with the securing of costs in that court, 5340, we find it provided that the plaintiff, if a non-resident of the
Again, the liability expressed in Section 5310 is “the costs which may be adjudged against the plaintiff in the court in which the action is brought, or in
To the foregoing may be added another consideration, having some, though less, weight. When the defeated party before the justice of the peace desires to appeal he is required, by Section 6584, to enter into an undertaking to the adverse party with surety conditioned to prosecute the appeal to effect and without unnecessary delay, and that if judgment be adjudged against him on appeal he will satisfy the same with costs. In a case where the non-resident plaintiff appeals there would, if the proposition of plaintiff in error is correct, be two independent bonds securing the costs of the defendant, a result which it would seem improbable could have been intended by the lawmakers.
Our conclusion is that, while the question is not wholly free from doubt, yet the more reasonable construction of Section 6701 is that the term “action,” as there used, is confined to the action before the justice of the peace.
This construction seems to have been placed upon the statute by Judge Swan in his Treatise, page 28, and is believed to be the construction accepted by the bench and bar generally throughout the state.
But for the costs made before the justice in the original action the surety in the undertaking is liable, provided the defendant recovers judgment for costs against the plaintiff and the same cannot be made from such plaintiff himself, and this liability is not affected by the fact that such judgment for costs is rendered in the court of common pleas on appeal
The judgment of the common pleas respecting the costs before the justice, and that of the circuit court affirming it, will be reversed, and judgment for costs before the justice entered here.
Reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.