Foreman v. Illinois Hair & Feather Co.

85 N.E.2d 353, 337 Ill. App. 147, 1949 Ill. App. LEXIS 259
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 1, 1949
DocketGen. No. 44,331
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 85 N.E.2d 353 (Foreman v. Illinois Hair & Feather Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Foreman v. Illinois Hair & Feather Co., 85 N.E.2d 353, 337 Ill. App. 147, 1949 Ill. App. LEXIS 259 (Ill. Ct. App. 1949).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Scanlan

delivered the opinion of the court.

On July 11, 1933, a judgment by confession was entered for $980.93 and costs against the Illinois Hair and Feather Co., Inc., and S. R. Posner. On February 4, 1947, John W. F. Smith, as receiver of Chicago Bank of Commerce, executed an assignment of the judgment to R. L. Feltinton. The assignment recited that there was then due on said judgment the sum of $698.93. The assignment was filed in the office of the Clerk of the Municipal Court of Chicago on March 13, 1947, and on that date Feltinton filed scire facias proceedings against the Illinois Hair and Feather Co., Inc., and S. R. Posner, to revive the judgment entered July 11, 1933. Summonses were issued and served on the Illinois Hair and Feather Co., Inc., and S. R. Posner. It appeared from an affidavit filed by S. R. Posner, defendant, that the Illinois Hair and Feather Co., Inc., was dissolved by law on November 22, 1938, and the service of summons upon the said company was, by agreement of plaintiff and S. R. Posner, defendant, quashed. The second amended defense filed by Posner, defendant, was stricken and the original judgment was revived against Posner for $698.93 and costs, it appearing that part of that judgment had been paid. S. R. Posner, defendant, appeals from the scire facias judgment.

Defendant S. R. Posner, hereinafter called appellant, makes the novel contention that “judgment entered by confession under a warrant of attorney cannot be revived by scire facias,” and in support of the contention cites the statute Westm. 2,13 Edw. I, Ch. 45, 1 Halsbury L. Eng. 38, which' he claims is still in force in this State, and he argues that it would violate that statute to permit a judgment entered by confession under a warrant of attorney to be revived by scire facias. The counsel admits that judgments obtained by confession upon warrant of attorney have always been revived by the Illinois courts, but he states that this practice has prevailed because no one heretofore questioned it. It would be difficult to estimate, even approximately, the number of the cases wherein judgments entered by confession under a warrant of attorney have been revived by scire facias in the Illinois courts, and if appellant’s interpretation of the English statute is correct, and if that statute is still in force in this State, it is strange that a practice that has always prevailed in this State has never been questioned by court or counsel until the present proceeding. We certainly refuse to hold, in the absence of any Illinois law to sustain such a holding, that the practice always followed in this State violated the law. However, we think that the instant contention may be disposed of, and adversely to appellant, by a reference to the statute law of this State:

Sec. 50 (5) of the Civil Practice Act (Ch. 110, par. 174, sec. 50 (5), Ill. Eev. Stat. 1947 [Jones Ill. Stats. Ann. 104.050, subpar. (5)]) provides:

“Any person for a debt bona fide due may confess judgment by himself or attorney duly authorized either in term time or vacation, without process. . . .”

Par. 24b of the Limitations Act (Ch. 83, par. 24b, sec. 25, Ill. Eev. Stat. 1947 [Jones Ill. Stats. Ann. 107.284(2)]) provides:

“Judgments in any court of record in this State may be revived by scire facias, or by ordinary civil action in lieu of scire facias as provided by the Civil Practice Act . . . : Provided, however, that actions to revive judgments in any court of record in this State by scire facias shall be commenced by affidavit of the judgment creditor or creditors, his or their agents, attorneys or assigns, setting forth a description of the original judgment by title of the action, date and amount thereof . . . .”

That a judgment by confession under a warrant of attorney is embraced in par. 24b was determined, we think, in Schwarts v. Schwarts, 366 Ill. 247. That case involved a bitter fight between two brothers, William Schwartz and Emanuel Schwartz, who had been partners in business. A dissolution of the partnership took place whereby William purchased the interest of Emanuel in the business, and in part payment thereof gave certain promissory notes which contained a power of attorney to confess judgment. They differed, however, from the usual judgment note in that the power to confess judgment became operative only upon maturity of the note. Thereafter a disagreement arose between the two brothers, and although they resided in the same home with their father, ate at the same table, and slept in the same room, they did not speak to one another. On March 24, 1932, Emanuel caused judgment to be entered upon one of the notes for $15,000 due March 1, 1932. William filed a motion to set aside the judgment and accompanied the motion with a tender of the principal and interest due to March 1, 1932. Emanuel accepted the tender and dismissed the suit. William then commenced a suit against Emanuel for malicious prosecution, in which he charged that Emanuel maliciously contrived “to injure him in his good name and credit, and to wrongfully and maliciously cause him unnecessary expense and loss of financial credit in his business and to ruin him financially, had put this note in judgment . . . .” (pp. 248, 249) In the trial court William recovered a judgment for $50,000, which the Appellate court for the Second District reversed without remanding. In the Supreme court William, the appellant, in order to sustain his contention that the entry of judgment, in the manner it was taken, showed malice, insisted that a judgment in narr and cognovit is not an ordinary civil suit like one begun by summons. The court stated (pp. 250, 251):

“. . . A suit for malicious prosecution of a civil suit without probable cause cannot be maintained where the action upon which it is grounded is an ordinary civil action, begun by summons and not accompanied by arrest of the person or seizure of property, or by special injury not necessarily resulting in any and all suits prosecuted to recover for like causes of action. ...

‘ ‘ Counsel for appellant here say that a judgment in narr and cognovit is not an ordinary civil suit begun by summons. The only difference between a judgment entered on narr and cognovit, and one in a suit brought by summons, is that in the former summons is uwnecessary, because the maker of the note authorises his appearance and waives summons. This does not distinguish it as an unusual suit nor as one not an ordinary civil suit. ... We are of the opinion that the judgment secured by the appellee in this case on the narr and cognovit is a judgment entered in an ordinary civil suit.'” (Italics ours.)

It seems plain to us that under the provisions of Ch. 83, par. 24b, and the ruling in the foregoing case, plaintiff had the right to proceed by scire facias to have the original judgment revived.

Appellant next contends that “the original judgment in the case at bar is joint: The scire facias must be joint, and the writ cannot be discontinued as to one defendant since all parties to the original judgment must be parties to a proceeding to revive it.” As heretofore stated, the affidavit filed by appellant averred the dissolution of Illinois Hair and Feather Co., Inc., on November 22, 1938, and it appears that the service of summons upon the corporation was quashed by agreement of plaintiff and appellant. The trial court, therefore, ivas right in reviving the judgment against the living defendant, appellant. (See Martines v.

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85 N.E.2d 353, 337 Ill. App. 147, 1949 Ill. App. LEXIS 259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foreman-v-illinois-hair-feather-co-illappct-1949.