Cullars v. Callan

59 So. 2d 608, 36 Ala. App. 481, 1950 Ala. App. LEXIS 332
CourtAlabama Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 31, 1950
Docket5 Div. 318
StatusPublished

This text of 59 So. 2d 608 (Cullars v. Callan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Alabama Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cullars v. Callan, 59 So. 2d 608, 36 Ala. App. 481, 1950 Ala. App. LEXIS 332 (Ala. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinions

HARWOOD, Judge.

A suit in which Joseph A. Cullars, was plaintiff, and John A. C. Callan was defendant was instituted by an attachment.

The affidavit in the attachment proceedings, made and filed by the plaintiff, Cullars, who is the appellant here, recited that Callan was a non-resident, and resided at 3819 Military Road, N. W., Washington, D. C., and was indebted fa> the plaintiff in the sum of $454.43 for work, labor and materials furnished him by the plaintiff.

The affidavit of plaintiff below was filed on 10 June 1949, and on that same day a writ of attachment was issued, which was executed by the sheriff the following day, that is, 11 June 1949.

Notice of the attachment was published for three successive weeks in a newspaper published in Lee County, Alabama.

On 15 June 1949 a copy of the paper containing the notice, together with a copy of the writ of attachment with the sheriff’s return, was mailed to the defendant below by the clerk of the court.

It is to be noted that no copy of any summons and complaint was mailed to the defendant.

A complaint sounding in the common counts was filed on 22 June 1949, within fifteen days, as provided by Section 882, Title 7, Code of Alabama 1940.

On 5 August 1949, the defendant not having entered an appearance, the court, on motion of the plaintiff, entered a judgment condemning the property levied on and ordered a writ of venditioni exponas to issue directing the sheriff to' sell the property levied on to satisfy the demand and court costs.

Thereafter, on 14 September 1949 the defendant filed a motion to set aside the judgment on the grounds that it was void on its face, and that the defendant was never lawfully served with process, and hence the court was without jurisdiction to enter the judgment.

On 21 October the plaintiff moved to strike the motion of defendant to set aside the judgment, the grounds thereof being that said motion was too late, in that it was filed more than thirty days after the rendition of the judgment, with no sufficient excuse, and no merit in defense shown, and therefore barred by Circuit Court Rule No. 11.

Ón 3 November 1949 an affidavit was filed by one of the attorneys for the plaintiff. The affidavit set forth certain conferences had between the attorneys for the respective parties had in August 1949, relative to a settlement of the judgment.

The respective motions were submitted to the court on 4 November 1949. Thereafter the court entered orders overruling the. motion of the plaintiff to strike defendant’s motion to set aside the judgment, and granting defendant’s motion to set aside the judgment, and restoring the cause to the docket.

. Thereafter on 4 January 1950 the plaintiff below attempted to perfect an appeal from the order of the court setting aside the judgment.

However, on 11 April 1950 the plaintiff below filed in this court a motion to the effect that if appeal be held an improper remedy that an alternate writ of mandamus be issued to the trial judge ordering [484]*484him to set aside his order setting aside the judgment.

The sufficiency of this petition has not been tested by any pleading filed by the defendant -below.

The defendant below also filed on 11 April 1950 a motion to dismiss the appeal, on the grounds that the attempted appeal is from an interlocutory order, and not a final judgment.

The order setting aside a default judgment and restoring the cause to the docket is not appealable, for the judgment or order, is merely interlocutory. Mandamus is the appropriate remedy to review the trial court's action in such instances. McDavid v. United Mercantile Agencies, 248 Ala. 297, 27 So.2d 499; Griffin v. Proctor, 244 Ala. 537, 14 So.2d 116. The appellee’s motion to dismiss the appeal is therefore granted.

We still have before us however appellant’s petition for an alternative writ of mandamus. The record of this cause is of course before us. Nothing has intervened between the filing of the record on the attempted appeal and the filing of the motion for the .alternative writ of mandamus which could in any wise tend to prejudice either party. The petition has not been challenged. Appellant’s uncertainty as to the proper remedy to pursue should be excused in light of conflicting decisions on this question. See Griffin v. Proctor, supra, for an excellent review of this qué’stion by Lawson, J. We see no reason therefore for charging the appellant petitioner with laches, and will proceed to consider this cause in its mandamus aspect. State ex rel. Townley v. Pugh, 14 Ala.App. 585, 70 So. 973.

We will for convenience hereinafter refer to the petitioner as the appellant, the position he originally attempted to occupy.

Appellant’s first assignment of error, and the points raised thereunder are addressed to the theory that the trial court had lost jurisdiction to set aside the default judgment because more than thirty days had elapsed since its rendition. Appellant relies upon Section 276, Title 7, Section 119, Title 13, Code of Alabama 1940, and Circuit Court Rule 11, and certain cases construing the above provisions.

It is of course to be conceded that all of the above provisions limit the trial court’s power over its judgments to a period of thirty days, except for the correction of clerical misprisions or amendments. However these provisions by their very terms apply to judgments. Such can be deemed to exist only if valid, or at least voidable. A void judgment is a complete nullity. Provisions relating to valid and voidable judgments cannot be deemed applicable to null and void orders-of a court.

Therefore, where it appears on the face of the record that a judgment is void, either for want of jurisdiction of the subject matter or of the party, it is the duty of a court, upon application by an interested party having rights immediately-involved, to vacate such judgment at any time subsequent to its rendition. Such power is to be deemed inherent in the interest of orderly judicial procedure and the records thereof. This power is not affected by acts and rules relating to practice whereby the power of a court over its judgment is restricted as to time. Sweeney v. Tritsch, 151 Ala. 242, 44 So. 184; Hynes v. Underwood, 191 Ala. 90, 67 So. 994; Chamblee v. Cole, 128 Ala. 649, 30 So. 630; Griffin v. Proctor, supra; Hobson-Starnes Coal Co. v. Alabama Coal & Coke Co., 189 Ala. 481, 66 So. 622; Murphree v. International Shoe Co., 246 Ala. 384, 20 So.2d 782.

We will therefore look to the court’s jurisdiction, or lack thereof, as revealed by the record to determine the status of' this judgment as determinative of the power of the court to set aside the default judgment.

The existence of jurisdiction in this cause depends upon the interpretation of several code sections pertaining to service of process by publication. . ,

It is clear from the record that only a. newspaper published copy of the notice of. the attachment, together with a copy of the. writ of attachment with the sheriff’s return was mailed to the defendant, and that the defendant’s address was known.

[485]*485Appellant contends that this mode of service was sufficient under Section 852, Title 7, Code of Alabama 1940, to invest the lower court with jurisdiction in this proceeding.

Section 852, supra, reads as follows:

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Related

Guy v. Pridgen & Holman
118 So. 229 (Alabama Court of Appeals, 1928)
Paterson v. Wisener
117 So. 663 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1928)
McDavid v. United Mercantile Agencies, Inc.
27 So. 2d 499 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1946)
Murphree v. International Shoe Co.
20 So. 2d 782 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1945)
Griffin v. Proctor
14 So. 2d 116 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1943)
Pullman Palace Car Co. v. Harrison
122 Ala. 149 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1898)
Chamblee v. Cole
128 Ala. 649 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1900)
State ex rel. Townley v. Pugh
70 So. 973 (Alabama Court of Appeals, 1916)
Sweeney v. Tritsch
44 So. 184 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1907)
Hobson-Starnes Coal Co. v. Alabama Coal & Coke Co.
66 So. 622 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1914)
Hynes v. Underwood
67 So. 994 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1915)
Cullars v. Callan
59 So. 2d 614 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1952)

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Bluebook (online)
59 So. 2d 608, 36 Ala. App. 481, 1950 Ala. App. LEXIS 332, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cullars-v-callan-alactapp-1950.