Barth v. Makeever

2 F. Cas. 957, 4 Biss. 206
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Indiana
DecidedMay 15, 1868
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2 F. Cas. 957 (Barth v. Makeever) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barth v. Makeever, 2 F. Cas. 957, 4 Biss. 206 (circtdin 1868).

Opinion

MCDONALD, District Judge.

This is a bill in equity, filed by Sebastian Barth against John Makeever, Daniel S. Makeever, Ephraim Sayers, Thomas J. Sayers, Thomas Clark, Henry G. Ely, Edward E. Bowen, William H. McConnell, Ingram Little, Abraham Trounstine, Joseph Trounstine, and Charles Keiffer.

The defendant, John Makeever, has filed a disclaimer. The defendants, Daniel S. Ma-keever, Ephraim Sayers, and Thomas J. Sayers, have demurred to the bill. The other defendants have not yet entered an appearance.

The point now to be decided is whether the demurrer ought to be sustained.

Two points are made in support of the demurrer: first, that this court has no jurisdiction over the parties—second, that there is no equity on the face of the bill. We will examine these points in their order.

I. Has this court jurisdiction over the parties to the bill? The bill alleges that, on the 2Gth of June, 1858, said “Ely, et al,” recovered in this court two judgments against said Clark—one for, $771.90—the other for $760.24; that on the 20th of May, 1860, one “Day and Matlock” recovered in this court a judgment against said Clark for $2,278.86; that on the 22nd of November, 1860, said “Abraham Trounstine, et al,” recovered in this court a judgment against said Clark for $1538.75; and that these judgments, from their dates respectively, were, and continue to be. liens on divers tracts of land situate in Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana, abundantly sufficient to satisfy said judgments, and then, and long afterwards, the property of Clark.

The bill avers that Clark, on the 3rd of May, 1861, became the owner by purchase of a tract of fifteen acres of land in Marion county, Indiana; and that he sold and conveyed the same, for valuable consideration, to the complainant, Barth, on the 4th of July, 1861.

The bill further alleges that, on the 9th of January, 1861, “Trounstine, et al,” took out execution on their said judgment, and the same was returned replevied by “Wm. C. Pierce and M. P. Carr,” as Clark’s sureties; that on the 26th of June, 1861, another execution was issued on the same judgment which the marshal levied on several of said tracts of land in Jasper county; and returned the same not sold for want of bidders; that, on the 8th of December, 1863, a vendi-tioni exponas was issued on the same judgment, and was returned “unsatisfied without a sale, having ascertained that Thomas Clark was and is not the owner of the land;” that; on the 16th of June, 1864, another fieri facias was issued on the same judgment, was levied on divers of said tracts of land in Jasper county, and was returned not sold; and that, on the 6th of February, 1865, another vendi-tioni exponas .was issued on the same judgment, and the return on it showed a sale of one of the parcels of land in Jasper county for $33.

The bill further states that, on the 26th of April, 1865, “Trounstine, et al,” assigned their said judgment to the defendants, John Makee-ver, Daniel S. Makeever, and Ephraim Sayers; that, about the same time, said Ely assigned his said two judgments to said Ingram Little; and that thereupon all said assignees of said judgments, in consideration of $65, released the liens of said assigned judgments on a large portion of the land which had been levied on as aforesaid. But the bill does not state to whom the release was executed.

The bill, also, avers that in May, 1865, on the petition of John Makeever, Daniel S. Makeever, and Ephraim Sayers, this court set aside all said levies, except that on one tract of land.

The bill also avers that, on the 10th of June, 1865, another fieri facias was issued on the judgment in favor of “Trounstine, et al,” to the marshal, who, at the same timé, had in his hands two other executions on the two judgments rendered in favor of said Ely as above stated; and that by virtue of those three executions, the marshal levied on Barth’s fifteen acres of land, and sold the same for $1150, to the said Ephraim Sayers, Thomas J. Sayers, and Daniel S. Makeever. But whether the marshal conveyed to them the land pursuant to this sale, is not stated in the bill.

The bill also charges that after the rendition of said judgments and before the said conveyance by Clark to Barth, the said John Makeever, Daniel S. Makeever, Ephraim Sayers, and Thomas J. Sayers became respectively owners by purchase from Clark of large portions of the lands, the levy on which had been set aside as aforesaid, of sufficient value to pay all said judgments; and that the obtaining of the execution of said release, and the procuring of said setting aside of levies, and the said levy on and sale of Barth’s land, [959]*959were effected by them in fraud of Barth’s rights, and were fraudulently intended by them to screen their own lands aforesaid from liability to said judgments and wrongfully to subject Barth’s to the payment thereof.

The object of the bill evidently is to show that the judgments in question became liens on all said lands in Jasper and Newton counties before they became "iieris on the after-acquired land of Clark which he sold to Barth; that therefore those lands ought to have been levied and sold to satisfy said judgments before resort was had to Barth’s; that said order setting aside the first levy, as well as said release, was a fraud on Barth; and that consequently the levy and sale of Barth’s land was, under the circumstances, an abuse of the process of this court, as well as a fraud on him.

The bill attempts to excuse the complainant’s apparent negligence in not earlier urging these objections to said proceedings, by averring that he is a man of foreign birth, and speaks and understands our ’anguage very imperfectly, and was utterly ignorant of the existence of these proceedings till within a few days before he filed his bill.

The bill prays that said levy and sale of Barth’s land be set aside, and for other relief.

The bill is silent as to the citizenship of the parties.

The complainant evidently founds his claim on the suppositions, first, that the release alleged frees his lands from the lien of the judgments, at least to the extent of the value of the property released; and, secondly, that the Jasper and Newton county lands were primarily hable for the satisfaction of the judgments, and therefore the sale of Barth’s land under the circumstances, was a misapplication and abuse of the process of the court. As to the release, how ever, as the pleadings now stand, it is entitled to no consideration, because the bill does not show to whom it was executed. But as to the second ground of the claim, namely the primary liability of the lands in Jasper and Newton counties, if, under the facts stated, the law creates such primary liability, it becomes a very serious question whether the sale of Barth’s land first was not such a misapplication and abuse of omprocess as to give us jurisdiction to redress the wrong even as to parties over whom we could not take original jurisdiction for the want of proper citizenship.

But, under the facts stated, does the law create a primary liability against the Jasper and Newton county lands, and only a secondary liability as to the Barth land? This question must be answered by a proper construction of the Indiana statutes relating to judgment liens on lands. For the acts of congress are construed as adopting those statutes. Simpson v. Niles, 1 Ind. 106; Doe v. Shrew, [Shrew v. Jones, Case No. 12,818;] Ward v. Chamberlain, 2 Black, [67 U. S.] 430.

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Bluebook (online)
2 F. Cas. 957, 4 Biss. 206, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barth-v-makeever-circtdin-1868.