Sims v. Anderson
Sims v. Anderson
Opinion of the Court
The only questions argued, and which will be considered, are, 1st, has the plaintiff a right to the money ? 2nd, can this action be maintained before a demand ?
1st, The party recovering in an action, at law. re
2nd. Generally, I should be disposed to hold, that a party, for whom the sheriff has collected money, should not be allowed to sue until a demand of payment has been actually made. In Wright v. Hamilton (2 Bail. 51) which was an action against the sheriff for money collected by him, it is said “the plaintiff was bound to do a collateral thing, to demand payment, and if it was refused, then an action lay, and then and not until then, the statute would begin to run.” This, I am satisfied, is the rule applicable to all cases where the sheriff has in his hands, money confessedly belonging to the plaintiff. In such a case, he ought to be required to pay before suit brought. For he might, were the rule otherwise, be sued by every execution creditor, for whose use money wras paid into his hands, before he could have the opportunity to pay it over.
But the rule has no application to this case. In it, according to the plaintiff’s proof and the finding of the jury, the defendant wrongfully applied (or rather retained) $120, belonging to the plaintiff. This was
TAe motion is dismissed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.