Burkhardt v. Sanford & Farnam

7 How. Pr. 329
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 15, 1852
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 7 How. Pr. 329 (Burkhardt v. Sanford & Farnam) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burkhardt v. Sanford & Farnam, 7 How. Pr. 329 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1852).

Opinion

Taggart, Justice.

I shall first proceed to consider the last point.

An answer to this point presents the questions: At what time does the lien of an attaching creditor attach, and when does the court acquire jurisdiction of the action against a non resident defendant If the lien is acquired by the issuing of the warrant [332]*332of attachment, or by the filing the notice of the pendency of the action, any subsequent irregularities or omissions, which do not divest the court of jurisdiction, will not defeat the lien acquired by the warrant of attachment, or by the filing notice of the pendency of the action.

By section 139 of the Code, the court is deemed to have acquired jurisdiction and to have control of all subsequent proceedings from the time of the service of the summons in a civil action, or the allowance of a provisional remed

This section is generally deemed to extend the provisions of sections 99 and 137, and provide for a class of cases not within the letter or spirit of those sections.

By the amended Code of 1851, the provisions of this section were still further extended so as to provide for the voluntary appearance of the defendant. Title 7th of the Code enumerates and classifies provisional remedies in civil actions. Chapter 1 treats of arrest and bail; chapter 2, of claim and delivery of personal property; chapter 3, injunction; chapter 4, attachment.

Section 229 provides that the warrant of attachment may be issued whenever it shall appear by affidavit that a cause of-action exists against the defendant, specifying the amount of the claim and the grounds thereof; and that the defendant is either a foreign corporation, or not a resident of this state, or has departed therefrom with intent to defraud his creditors, or to avoid the service of summons, or keeps himself concealed therein with the like intent.

The affidavit on which the warrant in this action was allowed, sets forth that the defendant was indebted to the plaintiff in the sum of 81379-22, upon two judgments rendered in the Superior Court of the county of Fairfield in the state of Connecticut, on the second Tuesday of February 1850, which judgments were rendered on two certain promissory notes made by the defendant and held by the plaintiff.

That the judgments were still in force and unsatisfied, and were held and owned by the plaintiff, and that a summons in this action had been issued to be served on said defendant; and that the defendant was not a resident of the state, but was a resident of Westport in the county of Fairfied in the state of Connecticut, [333]*333and had property in this state. This affidavit states all that is required to authorize the allowance of the warrant, and the warrant of attachment being a provisional remedy, and that being allowed on the 27th day of April 1850, the court then acquired jurisdiction over the action, and any subsequent irregularities would not invalidate the judgment or render the proceedings void; but such irregularities must be taken advantage of by motion, and can not be attacked collaterally. I am confirmed in this view of the subject by the case of Moore’s Executors vs. Thayers, executors of McEwen (3 Code R. 176). That was a decision at general term on an appeal from an order at special term (see 3 Code R. 139). The plaintiff had obtained an attachment under the Code against the property of McEwen, and an order to serve the summons by publication. Before the time prescribed for publication of the summons had expired, McEwen died. A motion was made at special term to substitute McEwen’s executors as defendants and denied. On appeal the court say, the ground upon which this motion was denied at special term was that the summons had not been served at the time of the decease of the defendant. We concur in opinion which was expressed upon the decision of the motion, that, as a general rule, a suit is not commenced, where the service of the summons is by publication, until the expiration of the time for publication prescribed by the Code. But, in addition to the provisions contained in section 137 of the Code, on the commencement of a civil action, it is provided in section 139, that from the time of the allowance of a provisional remedy in a civil action, the court shall be deemed to have acquired jurisdiction, and to have control of all subsequent proceedings. In this case an attachment, which is one of the provisional remedies mentioned in the Code, had been issued against the property of the defendant, McEwen, and his property had been taken under it before his decease. It seems, then, that although there had not been a service of the summons, within the meaning of the Code, still the plaintiff had acquired a provisional lien upon the defendant’s property, which would become complete to the amount of his judgment, provided he secured a judgment in the action.”

If I am right in this opinion it disposes of all the irregularities [334]*334complained of, and entitles the defendant Sanford to the fruits of his judgment, and to the money in controversy, provided his lien, by virtue of the warrant, attached upon the land prior to the sale thereof to the plaintiff.

The next inquiry to be made is, when does the lien of the warrant attach? It is contended on the part of the defendant that it attaches on filing the notice of the pendency of the action.

Section 132 of the Code provides for filing notice of pendency of the action in actions affecting the title to real property

The defendant insists that this is an action affecting the title to real property. It is difficult to perceive that this is such an action. The suit is brought for the recovery of a demand against the property of the defendant generally, without any regard to the kind of property, or to any specified property. It was no more an action affecting the title to real property, than an ordinary action to secure a demand against a resident debtor by the service of summons and complaint. In such actions the plaintiff often relies upon the real property of the defendant to satisfy his debt, yet he obtains no lien upon it by the commencement of the action; nor can he acquire any lien by filing notice of its pendency, or in any manner make it an action affecting such title, and until the time of docketing the judgment the right of a bona fide purchaser will not be affected. So in this case, the defendant in this action acquired no lien upon the land of Bradley by the filing the notice. Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, of title 1 of chapter 5 of part 2 of the Revised Statutes, provides for issuing warrant of attachment against the property of absconding, concealed and non resident debtors. Sections 1 and 3, authorizes the attaching of the property for the payment of debts, and spécifies the class of persons against whose property and upon whose application such attachments may be issued. Sections 4 and 5, provide that the application for the attachment shall be in writing, verified by the affidavit of the creditors or of the person making the same in his behalf, in which shall be specified the sum in which the debtor is indebted, over and above all discounts, to the person in whose behalf such application is made, and the grounds upon which such application is founded.

Section 5 provides that the facts and circumstances to establish [335]*335the grounds on which such application is made, shall be verified by the affidavit of two disinterested witnesses.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Goldberg v. Levine
195 A.D. 950 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1921)
Robinson v. Columbia Spinning Co.
23 A.D. 499 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1897)
McGinn v. Ross
11 Abb. Pr. 20 (The Superior Court of New York City, 1871)
Thacher v. Bancroft
15 Abb. Pr. 243 (New York Supreme Court, 1862)
Yale v. Matthews
12 Abb. Pr. 379 (New York Supreme Court, 1861)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
7 How. Pr. 329, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burkhardt-v-sanford-farnam-nysupct-1852.