Campbell v. Johnston

34 Ky. 177, 4 Dana 177, 1836 Ky. LEXIS 47
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedJune 10, 1836
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 34 Ky. 177 (Campbell v. Johnston) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Campbell v. Johnston, 34 Ky. 177, 4 Dana 177, 1836 Ky. LEXIS 47 (Ky. Ct. App. 1836).

Opinion

Judge Ewing

delivered the Opinion of .the Court. .

On the 30th July, 1818, Arthur L. Campbell executed to John Gwathmey a deed of trust, on three twenty acre lots, near Louisville, to secure the payment of five notes executed by said Campbell, on the 10 th day of March, 1818: namely, one to Richard A. Maupin for three thousand nine hundred and twenty-two dollars, payable one year after its date; another to said Maupin, for four thousand one hundred and ninety-four dollars, payable two years, after date; both of which were assigned to said Gwathmey; another to said Gwathmey, for four thousand three hundred and sixty-six dollars, payable three years after date; another to the same, for four thousand five hundred and eighty-eight- dollars, payable four years after date; and another to the same, for four thousand eight hundred and ten dollars, payable five years after date.

The three latter notes were afterwards, in October, 1818, assigned by the said Gwathmey to James C. Johnston; and the first of the two former, was assigned by said Gwathmey to John Howard, and the latter to John Fish-lie.

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Johnston, claiming the benefit of the deed of trust, filed his bill hi equity to foreclose Campbell’s equity of redemption, and have the lots sold to satisfy the notes ass'Snec*- to him; to which, by amendments, he makes Fishlie, Howard, and the heirs and personal representative of Gwathmey, defendants; and alleges that the notes assigned to Howard and Fishlie had been paid off and discharged; and also, that the assignments wei'e made by Gwathmey, under and in considex'ation of an usurious contract for the loan of money, and insists that they should be postponed, and' the land first made subject to the payment of his notes; and, by subsequeixt amendment, alleges, that Howard’s note had been paid off and lifted, by another note taken in discharge there? of, with security: which is admitted by Howard in his answer.

Campbell answered, denying that the two notes assigned to Howard and Fishlie had been paid off, and alleging that Gwathmey had executed to him, in 1817, a deed of conveyance, with covenants of seism, for the lot No. 34, and another lot of five acres; and states that, at the time of executing that deed, said Gwathmey was not seized; that there then existed incumbrances on the land for the consideration of the prior purchase thereof by Gwathmey, from one Johnson, and that Gwathmey had become insolvent. He makes his answer a cross kill against Johnston, Fishlie andHowax’d,&c. and prays that he may have an offset agaixxst the notes secured by the deed of trust, for the amount he is entitled to, on account of Gwathmey’s breach of covenant on the deed to him.

Johnston filed an answer to Campbell’s cross bill, in which he inserted an amendment to his original bill, in which he puts Campbell upon the proof of his claim of set-off, and sets up other demands due by notes from Campbell to him, as a rebutter to Campbell’s claim of set-off, and alleges the insolvency of Campbell, and his total inability to collect said demands from him.

The allegations of usury in the assignments of the notes to Howard and Fishlie, being inserted as an amendment to the original bill, in the foregoing answer of John[179]*179ston, the caption of which, purported to be an answer only to Campbell’s cross bill, were not noticed by Fish-lie, or answered, and were taken for confessed on the hearing.

Decree, and sep' arate writs of er" rorby twodef’ts. Where the reversal of a decree is sought by writ of error, all who can properly unite in the same writ, should do so, to avoid a multiplicity of suits: all against whom there is a joint decree should unite; and all parties—whether compl’ts or def’ts in the suit —who complain of the same supposed errors and only the same, and can unite in a joint assignment of errors as prejudicial to all, should unite in the writ of error. But where different decrees are, rendered in the same suit,against different def’ts, or the same decree is prejudicial to different defendants in differ-,. ent ways, so that they cannot all assign, the same errors each one, or each set» may maintain, a separate writ of error.

The Circuit Court decreed, that Fishlie’s demand should be postponed to those of Johnston; and also, that the set-off claimed by Campbell, should be rebutted and extinguished, by the notes set up by Johnston, as a rebutter, and that the two lots, Nos. 35 and 36, should be sold to satisfy—first, his notes secured by the deed of trust, and afterwards the note of Fishlie, &c.

To reverse this decree two writs of error have been prosecuted to this Court—one in the name of Campbell, and the other in the name of Fishlie.

Both of these writs being founded on the same record and decree, they will be taken up and decided together.

It is objected on the part of Johnston, as a preliminary question, that it is irregular and erroneous to prosecute several writs, and for that cause, both should be quashed.

It is often a difficult and perplexing question, to determine who may join, and are proper parties as plaintiffs, in writs of error to reverse decrees in chancery. Owing to the peculiarity of the proceedings in chancery, the many parties and numerous decrees, as well as the complicated and partial character of the decrees rendered, sometimes in part in favor of th.e complainant, against part of the defendants, and in favor of others, and against some of the defendants, and in favor of other defendants—the writ of error, in its origin, is badly suited to decrees in chancery, and was originally unknown. It was, in its origin, made to apply to a judgment at law, which is generally a unit, and in whole, rendered in favor or against the parties, plaintiffs, or defendants, and in which no cross judgments can be rendered. Its application to decrees has, however, long been indulged in, sanctioned by legislative enactment, and should be so applied and modeled by this Court, under the power it possesses of regulating its own process, as to suit [180]*180the cases that may arise, and attain the ends of justice. 3 Lit. Rep. 377.

A deft makes liisansvv era cross bill; the compl’t answers it,, and the caption purports nothing more than an answer, yet he introduces into the body of it, an amendmentto his original bill,charging a specific fact against another defendant; which,being over looked by the latter, is taken for confessed.— This was a mode of practice calculated to entrap the party charged in the amendment --which should not he tolerated.

[180]*180The decree in this case is not a joint decree against Campbell and Fishlie, nor can they be jointly interested in reversing it. So far from it, the decree is rendered against Campbell, and in favor of Fishlie, as to the amount of the note assigned to him; and that Campbell’s lots shall be sold to- discharge it.

Fishlie cannot join with Campbell in assigning errors in the decree in his favor. It cannot be said that he is prejudiced by a decree directing Campbell’s lots to be sold to satisfy his demand. Nor is Campbell prejudiced by that portion of the decree,'which directs Fishlie’s demand to be postponed, and Johnston’s to be first satisfied.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
34 Ky. 177, 4 Dana 177, 1836 Ky. LEXIS 47, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/campbell-v-johnston-kyctapp-1836.