Lassly v. Fontaine
Lassly v. Fontaine
Opinion of the Court
(after • stating the case.) By the 4th article of the constitution of the United Stales, “ full faith “ and credit shall be given, in each State, to the public acts, ,i records and judicial proceedings of every other State.” A patent, under the hand of the governor and seal of the State, is one of those public acts to which full faith and credit must be given in every Court in the union, being a record of the highest nature. If the Courts of this State were to undertake to pronounce the public act of a sister State, thus solemnly authenticated, void, in consequence of any misfeasance or omission of duty in the inferior ministerial officers of that State, whose faithful discharge of their duty the patent supposes, it might lead to consequences far beyond the reach of my foresight. If the patent be void, or voidable, for the reasons suggested in the bill of exceptions, I conceive it to be competent only to the State of North Carolina, and its Courts, to pronounce it void. In what manner a patent may be avoided in that State, whether by a scire facias issuing out of the Court of Chan-eery, or otherwise, we are not informed. But no evidence, not of equal dignity with the patent itself,
A second exception was taken to the Court’s opinion. The plaintiff offered sundry depositions to prove that the defendant had not, when requested, gone himself to Tennessee, and shewn, or procured any other person, to shew
But having accepted a deed of bargain and sale for the lands from the defendant, there was no obligation on the. defendant afterwards to go and shew the lands, unless he had specially undertaken to do so, which, for a by thing that appears from the condition of this bond, he did not. I therefore think the judgment must be affirmed, there being no other point submitted to the Court but the admission or rejection of the above-mentioned evidence.
It seems strange that no notice is taken in the bill of exceptions, of the want of a conveyance from Donaldson, the patentee, to Fontaine ; and as no such conveyance appears on the record, it may be presumed that none was exhibited at the trial. But as the circumstance was omitted to be stated in the bill of exceptions, this Court will take no further notice of it. I am of opinion that the decree, be affirmed.
Absent, Judge Roane.
See 1 Hen & Munf. 308 Witherinton v. M‘Donald
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