Doe ex dem. Mace v. Dutton

2 Ind. 309
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 27, 1850
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 2 Ind. 309 (Doe ex dem. Mace v. Dutton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe ex dem. Mace v. Dutton, 2 Ind. 309 (Ind. 1850).

Opinion

Perkins, J.

Ejectment. Judgment below for the defendant.

The plaintiff claimed title to the lands in question in his lessor, Daniel Mace, by virtue of a judgment, sheriff’s sale, and deed. Said Mace was the attorney of Browning and Co., the plaintiffs in the judgment. Burditt and Calvert were the defendants in said judgment. Dutton, the grantee of Calvert, one of those defendants, was the defendant in this ejectment, and he resisted the plaintiff’s claim of title, on the ground that said sheriff’s sale and deed were void; and, to establish that proposition, he [310]*310relied upon two assumptions claimed by him to be true, one being of fact, the other of law; of fact, that before the issuing of the execution by virtue of which the lands in question were sold, the judgment on which it issued had been satisfied by the levy of a previous execution, issued upon the same judgment, on lands of the judgment-debtors other than those now in question, sufficient to satisfy the debt, and that that levy was undisposed of, as appeared by the return upon said execution: of law, that an execution upon a satisfied judgment was void. The record does not, we think, sustain the assumption of fact. It is ti-ue that a previous execution had been issued and levied on lands, other than those now in controversy, as the lands of the execution-defendants, and returned no sale for want of bidders, and that that levy had not been disposed of; but it is not true that those other lands so levied on, were, so far as appears by the record, the lands of the execution-defendants. They were not in the possession of those men when levied on, nor does it appear that they were ever in their possession. No evidence of title in said defendants was produced, but, on the contrary, it was shown that said lands were, at a former period, conveyed by the United States to one Kisor, and there was no proof that he had ever parted with them, though the proper records of the county had been searched with the view of ascertaining the fact. In short, upon the whole evidence, without detailing it here, we may say that it is very certain the lands covered by the former levy do not appear to have been the lands of the execution-defendants; nor is it shown that they were sufficient to pay the judgment, though, perhaps, had they been shown to have been the lands of the judgment-debtors, their sufficiency would have been presumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

This levy, then, not having been upon the lands of the execution-defendants, was no satisfaction of the judgment. Sullivan v. McKean, 2 N. H. Rep. 37.— The Bank v. Turney, 8 Humph. 271.

Whether, therefore, an execution upon a satisfied judg. [311]*311ment is void, according to the second assumption, or whether it is not, we are not now called on to decide. See Mouchat v. Brown, 3 Rich. (S. C.) 117. — Dean v. Connely, 6 Barr, 239. — Bank v. Evans, 10 S. & M. 35. — Neilson v. Neilson, 5 Barb. (N. Y.) S. C. R. 565. But it is said that, admitting the former levy was not a satisfaction, still it was erroneous to issue a second fi. fa. before that levy had been disposed of, and as the attorney of the judgment-plaintiff in this case was the purchaser for the benefit of said judgment-plaintiff, the error renders the sale void as to either or both of them. It is well settled that such a levy upon property as does not amount to a satisfaction, is no bar to further execution on the judgment. Peplœ v. Galliers, 16 Eng. C. L. R. 371. — Green v. Burk, 23 Wend. 490. — Dyke v. Mercer, 2 Show. 394. — Duncan v. Harris, 17 S. R. 436. — Clark v. Bell, 8 Humph. 26. — Spafford v. Beach, 2 Doug. 150. — Taylor v. Ranney, 4 Hill, (N. Y.) 619. This last case was a scire facias to revive and obtain execution upon a judgment. The defendants pleaded, secondly, a previous fieri facias and levy. “ By the Court, Bronson, J. The second plea does not show a satisfaction of the judgment. The allegation is, that by virtue of the fieri facias the damages were levied on the goods and chattels, lands and tenements of the judgment-debtors. It should have been that the damages were levied of the goods, &c. A mere levy upon lands never amounts to satisfaction. (Shepherd v. Rowe, 4 Wend. 260). Nor does a levy upon goods, even where they are of sufficient value to pay the debt, necessarily amount to a satisfaction. Green v. Burke, 23 Wend. 490. Here the levy was upon lands as well as goods, and there is no averment that either or both of them were of sufficient value to pay the debt, or that any sale or satisfaction has followed. The plea is clearly bad.” We should add that it has been held in this state, that a levy upon lands may amount to a satisfaction. Miller v. Ashton, 7 Blackf. 29.

The prior levy in this case, then, not being such as to be regarded a satisfaction of the judgment, the issue of [312]*312the subsequent execution before a return to the former, or other proceedings to effect a vacation of the levy had been had, was at most but an error which rendered the execution voidable, but not void; and being such, the sale under it was valid; for a sale under a voidable, but not void, execution is valid, even to a purchaser with notice of the fact, where there is no fraud. See Ingram v. Belk, 2 Strobh. 207.

We are aware that this point has been ruled otherwise. In the first Am. Ed. of Tidd’s Practice, published in 1807, vol. 2, p. 936, it is said: “Upon an erroneous judgment, if there be a regular writ, the party may justify under it, till the judgment be reversed; for an erroneous judgment is the act of the Court, and the party need not set forth in his plea that the writ has been returned. But if the judgment or execution be irregular the party cannot justify under it, for that is a matter in the privity of himself or his attorney.” Upon this authority, the Supreme Court of Kentucky decided in Hoskins v. Helm, 4 Littell, 309, that a purchase of land by the execution-plaintiff, upon an execution issued after a year and day from the rendition of the judgment, without revivor, was void; and in Waite v. Dalby, 8 Humph. 406, the Supreme Court of Tennessee followed the decision in Kentucky. But in a later, the 9th edition of the above work, Am. Ed., 1840, Mr. Tidd has changed the language of the above paragraph to the following; “Upon an erroneous judgment, if there be a regular writ, the party may justify under it, till the judgment be reversed; for an erroneous judgment is the act of the Court. But if the judgment on execution has been set aside for irregularity the party cannot justify under it, for that is a matter in privity of himself or his attorney.” 2 Tidd Pr. 3d Am. Ed. 1032. The word irregular, we may remark, does not appear to be limited by any one, to an expression of what is void only, when used in reference to judicial proceedings. And we have been able to find no English case where a defendant has been permitted to object to proceedings, either upon a voidable but not void judgment, or execu[313]*313tion, in. any other manner than by direct steps to set it aside. There is American

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Bluebook (online)
2 Ind. 309, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-ex-dem-mace-v-dutton-ind-1850.