Toomey v. Rosansky
Toomey v. Rosansky
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
A judgment on a transcript from an alderman against Conrad Toomey and Kate Toomey, his wife, in right of said wife, was entered in the common pleas of Allegheny county. An exemplification of it was filed in the common pleas of Westmoreland county. The land of the defendant, Kate Toomey, in the latter county, was sold by the sheriff to W. W. Whitesell, whose title thereto was subsequently conveyed to the defendants who were in possession. In the trial of an ejectment brought by Catherine Toomey, it was contended that the original judgment before the alderman, entered in the common pleas of Allegheny county, was void and that all subsequent proceedings thereon in Westmoreland county were without validity.
The only practical question raised by the several specifications of error relates to the validity of the original judgment. If, as claimed by the appellant, it was void from the beginning, the appellee admits that the proceedings based thereon were a nullity. The appellee claims that the original judgment was good but that in any event it was only voidable and, if so, the application to avoid it must be made in the county where the judgment- was originally entered. The transcript of the aider-man sets forth: “And now, November 3, 1893, at 11 A. M., parties appear for plaintiff. J. H. Dean sworn claims the sum of $230.00 due to the pltff. by deft, on book acct. for groceries sold and delivered to the defts., the said goods being necessaries of life ordered by the deft., Kate Toomey, for the use of defts.’ family. Acct. produced and proven and now, after hearing the proof and allegations, the judgment entered publicly in favor of the pltffs. and against defts. for the sum of $230 and costs for suit.” The appellant claims that this judgment is void for the reason that the transcript does not set forth in terms the fact that the defendant, Catherine Toomey, contracted to pay for said goods, as required by the Act of April 11, 1848, P. L. 536, and the construction thereof by our Supreme Court in numerous cases. It is to be remembered, however, that at the time of the passage of this act a married woman was not allowed to make a contract for any purpose, except in the exceptional case provided for therein. The status of a married woman has been completely changed since that day, particularly by the acts of 1887 and 1893. She now has the power to make a contract
We can see no essential difference between the latter case and the one under consideration. So far as the proceedings in Westmoreland county were concerned, the judgment was valid. If the plaintiff in the ejectment had desired to contest its validity, she should have done so in the court in which it was entered originally. Unless the judgment were absolutely void upon its face, it could not be attacked collaterally in this proceeding. All the late authorities fully sustain the rulings of the court below.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Catherine Toomey v. Joseph Rosansky and Mary Rosansky
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- 1 case
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- Syllabus
- Judgment — Collateral attach. Unless a judgment is void on its face, it cannot be collaterally attacked after execution upon exemplification filed in another county. Judgment against married woman — Presumption of validity. It is no longer necessary to the validity of a judgment against a married woman to set out the facts which, before the act of 1887, were necessary to give the judgment validity. The transcript of a judgment of a justice of the peace against husband and wife for necessaries sold and delivered to defendants is not defective so as to render judgment void because the transcript does not set forth in terms the fact that the wife contracted to pay for said goods as required by the act of 1848.