Hunter ex rel. Holgate v. Mahoney

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Hunter ex rel. Holgate v. Mahoney, 148 Pa. 232 (Pa. 1892)
23 A. 1004; 1892 Pa. LEXIS 960
Heydrick, McCollum, Paxson, Sterrett, Williams

Hunter ex rel. Holgate v. Mahoney

Opinion of the Court

Per Curiam,

The only specification of error is, that the court below erred in opening the judgment. This is an equitable proceeding, as we have repeatedly said, and we find nothing in the case to show that the discretion of the court below was not properly exercised. The facts alleged in the defendant’s petition, if true, were sufficient to justify the action of the court. No answer was filed by the plaintiff to this petition. The plaintiff’s allegations, therefore, stood confessed, and this alone would have justified the court below in opening the judgment. It is true there was an answer filed by the use plaintiff, but it referred to matters of which lie could have had no knowledge, except by hearsay. An examination of the depositions, taken for and against the rule to open the judgment, leaves us in no doubt as to the propriety of the action of the court below.

Judgment affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name
Hunter, to use of Holgate v. Mahoney
Cited By
4 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
Judgment note — Opening of judgment — Discretion of court. The opening of a judgment is an equitable proceeding within the discretion of the court, and the Supreme Court, on appeal, will reverse only if it appear that this discretion was not properly exercised. Defendant’s petition for a rule to open judgment, entered on a judgment note, averred payment of the note. The note had been assigned. No answer was made by the plaintiff, but the use plaintiff in an answer denied the allegations in the petition. Depositions taken in support of the rule showed a conflict of testimony as to the question of payment. Meld, that there was no doubt of the propriety of the action of the court below in opening the judgment.