Andrews v. Sheehy

51 So. 122, 125 La. 217, 1909 La. LEXIS 654
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedDecember 13, 1909
DocketNo. 17,567
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 51 So. 122 (Andrews v. Sheehy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Andrews v. Sheehy, 51 So. 122, 125 La. 217, 1909 La. LEXIS 654 (La. 1909).

Opinion

Statement of the Case.

MONROE, J.

George B. Sheehy, defendant herein, instituted suit in the district court for the parish of Pointe Coupee against Simonds and Perkins to confirm his title to certain land which he alleged had been acquired by Andrews, plaintiff herein, at tax sale, and sold by Andrews to him, with warranty of title, and he prayed that Andrews, who lived in Mississippi, be cited through a curator ad hoe, and, in the event of an adverse judgment on the question of title, that he be condemned for the price which had been paid him. There was judgment in favor of Simonds and Perkins on the question of title and in favor of Sheehy and against Andrews on the call in warranty, and, Sheehy alone appealing, the judgment so rendered was affirmed by this court. In re Sheehy, [219]*219119 La. 608, 44 South. 315. Thereafter Andrews brought this suit to annul the judgment obtained against him, on the ground that, being a nonresident, he could not have been brought into court through substituted service, to which Sheehy (made defendant) answers that the judgment is good, for the reason that Andrews was residing in Pointe CoupSe when he sold the property, and moved to Mississippi afterwards, and that he (defendant) had no other way to bring him into Court on his warranty of title, save through a curator ad hoc. 1-Ie further alleges that, should the court hold that the judgment is not good on account of' the substituted service, Andrews should be held to be estopped to assail its validity, for the reason that he was at once advised of the appointment of the curator ad hoc, and, prior to and during the trial, consulted and advised with the counsel for plaintiff (defendant herein) as to the prosecution of the suit, was fully informed that in the event of an adverse judgment on the question of title he would be condemned for the price for which he had sold the property, and that, after said judgment was rendered, he acquiesced therein by promising to pay it, if time were given him, which condition was complied with. Defendant then, assuming the character of plaintiff in reconvention, alleges:

“That, in the event the court should hold that your reconvenor’s said judgment against. the said Andrews should he annulled, * * * then and in that case the said Charles L. Andrews is justly * * * indebted to your reconvenor in the full sum of $4,637.50, with legal interest * * * for this, to wit.”

And he proceeds to set forth his cause of action as in the original suit. He further makes certain allegations, upon the basis of which he caused John Wesley Green to be cited, and prayed that a transaction, purporting to be a sale of land by Andrews to Green, be set aside, either as simulated or as having been made in fraud of his rights as a creditor of Andrews, but Green filed an exception, which was maintained, with the result that he was eliminated from the suit (Andrews v. Sheehy, 122 La. 464, 47 South. 771), leaving before the court only Andrews and Sheehy, as. between whom the following issues were presented for decision, to wit:

(1) Was it competent for the district court for the parish of Pointe Coupée to bring Andrew's, a resident of the state of Mississippi, before it for the purposes of the moneyed judgment rendered against him by citing him through a curator ad hoc?

(2) Is Andrews estopped to assail the validity of the judgment so rendered because he was informed of the axopointment of the curator ad hoc, consulted with the plaintiff in the case (defendant herein) before and during the trial, appeared on the trial as a witness, and was advised that, in the event of an adverse judgment on the question of title, the judgment now assailed by him would be rendered?

(3) Did he after its rendition promise to pay the judgment (in question) if granted a delay in which to raise the money, and, if so, did the promise constitute such an acquiescence in the judgment as to preclude the present attack upon it?

(4) Is the demand here made by Sheehy for judgment against Andrews as in the original suit a demand in the alternative and in reconvention, “which Sheehy has the right to assert in this proceeding?

The district court rendered judgment in favor of Andrews, decreeing null and void the judgment herein attacked by him, and ordering that the inscription thereof be canceled from the mortgage records; and in favor of Sheehy on his reconventional demand, condemning Andrews to pay him $4,-637.50, with interest, further ordering that the costs of the main demand be paid by Sheehy and those of the reconventional demand by Andrews. Both parties have appealed.

[221]*221Opinion.

1. It is well settled that nonresidents cannot be brought into the courts of this state upon ordinary demands for money, by substituted service. Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U. S. 730, 24 L. Ed. 505; Haddock v. Haddock, 201 U. S. 502, 20 Sup. Ct. 525, 50 L. Ed. 807; Hobson et al. v. Peake, 44 La. Ann. 383, 10 South. 702. And the rule applies with equal force where the nonresident is called in warranty. Smith v. McWaters, 7 La. Ann. 145; Pagett v. Curtis, 15 La. Ann. 451. Moreover, a demand in warranty in legal contemplation arises in an action only when made by the party who has been sued. Laughlin v. La. & N. O. Ice Co., 35 La. Ann. 1185; Foote v. Pharr, 115 La. 35, 38 South. 885; Clapham et al. v. Clayton et al., 118 La. 419, 43 South. 36.

2. Defendant herein alleges in his answer that:

“The said Andrews took no steps to have the appointment of the said curator set aside, nor to formally appear in said suit and make a defense, if any he could, to your respondent’s call in warranty, thus tacitly acquiescing in the entire proceeding, and tacitly consenting to abide by the judgment of the court.”

Andrews was, however, under no obligation to see that Sheehy laid the foundation for a valid judgment against him by having him cited, and his consultation with Sheehy’s attorney as to the prosecution of the proceeding, and his appearance therein as a witness may be accounted for by his interest in having Sheehy’s title confirmed without assuming that he intended at the same time to waive any of his own rights in order to facilitate Sheehy in the obtention of a judgment against himself, even though he might have felt or known that 'he would eventually be liable in the event of an adverse judgment on the question of title for the price that Sheehy had paid him. As to the allegation that he had full knowledge that in such case judgment would then and there be rendered against him, there was no' attempt to sustain it by proof, and evidence to that effect would have been inadmissible if offered (Harris v. Alexander, 1 Rob. 30), since (to quote language used by our predecessors) :

“It has been repeatedly held that knowledge of the suit, however clearly brought home to a defendant, does not supply want of citation, which is the foundation of the proceeding.” Adams v. Bazile, 35 La. Ann. 102; Hobson et al. v. Peake et al., 44 La. Ann. 383, 10 South. 702.

3. There is no doubt that a defendant may waive his right to a citation by appearing .for any other purpose than to plead the want thereof. Louque’s Digest, p. 112, IV No. 1; Tutorship of Minors Byland, 38 La. Ann. 750; Bartlett v. Wheeler, 31 La. Ann. 543.

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Bluebook (online)
51 So. 122, 125 La. 217, 1909 La. LEXIS 654, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/andrews-v-sheehy-la-1909.