Hunter v. Karcher
Hunter v. Karcher
Opinion of the Court
This case originated and was first tried in justice court, resulting in a judgment for plaintiff, upon a claim of $20, which was the agreed monthly rental for a house of plaintiff which the defendant occupied under a lease. The defendant appealed to the county court upon questions of both law and fact, and a trial there resulted in a verdict in plaintiff’s favor, and against the defendant for the full amount claimed. From said judgment, and from an order overruling a motion for a new trial, this appeal was taken.
It is argued by counsel for appellant that his motion to dismiss the action, made in the court below, upon the ground that no valid judgment was ever entered in justice court, ought to have been sustained. The record in justice court, which fully specifies the nature of the claim, contains, over the certificate of the justice, a transcript of his docket, which enumerates all essential jurisdictional facts, and concludes with the following recital: “After hearing the evidence and law, judgment was given for plaintiff for $20 against Charles ¿archer, and costs, $13.50, making in all $33.50. Notice of an appeal was given by Frank McLaughlin, attorney for Charles Karcher. John Stan-nus, Justice of the Peace.” “A judgment is the final determination of the rights of the parties in an action. ’’ Comp. Laws, .§ 5024. In the foregoing decision of the justice, the law was applied to all litigated facts; the aggregate amount to which plaintiff was entitled, including the item of costs, was ascertained; and the rights of the parties were fully determined by the entry of a final judgment which, though informal and subject to adverse criticism, is sufficient to support an execution, or constitute a bar to another suit upon the same cause of action. In our opinion the instrument is a final judgment, within the statutory definition.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.