Klein v. Anderson

39 Pa. D. & C. 139, 1940 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 187
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Beaver County
DecidedMay 14, 1940
Docketno. 16
StatusPublished

This text of 39 Pa. D. & C. 139 (Klein v. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Beaver County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Klein v. Anderson, 39 Pa. D. & C. 139, 1940 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 187 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1940).

Opinion

Wilson, J.,

The matter before us is a rule to strike off a judgment which was duly before the court en banc upon argument c. a. v.

R. B. Anderson and W. R. Anderson, defendants, were the owners of certain real estate when, on December 19, 1932, plaintiffs entered a certain judgment against them at no. 107, March term, 1933, d. s. b. By deed dated December 12,1935, and recorded January 31,1936, defendants conveyed said real estate to Clayton R. Toogood and Loretta Toogood, his wife.

On June 15, 1938, at no. 16, September term, 1938, a scire facias was issued to revive the judgment at no. 107, March term, 1933, as against defendants. The Toogoods, grantees in the deed recorded January 31,1936, were not named as terre-tenants. On October 4, 1939, the sheriff returned said writ of scire facias as unexecuted.

By deed dated July 24, 1939, and. recorded July 31, 1939, Clayton R. Toogood conveyed an interest in the real estate to Loretta M. Toogood, his wife. And by deed dated August 30, 1939, and recorded the same day, the Toogoods conveyed said real estate in fee to Albert H. Gredel.

On October 4, 1939, the same day on which the sheriff returned the scire facias at no. 16, September term, 1938, unexecuted, plaintiffs issued an alias scire facias, at the same number and term, to revive the judgment at no. 16, September term, 1938, as against defendants. In the record of this alias scire facias no terre-tenant is named, but on the praecipe on file Albert H. Gredel is named as terretenant, is so designated in the writ, and the sheriff’s return shows service on an adult member of the family with which he resided on October 6, 1939.

On November 17, 1939, upon praecipe filed, judgment was entered upon the alias scire facias against defendants and Albert H. Gredel, as terre-tenant.

On February 16, 1940, the aforesaid Albert H. Gredel presented his petition and a rule issued on plaintiffs to show cause why the judgment should not be stricken [141]*141from the record. No depositions were taken and the questions involved are submitted on the record, the petition, oral argument, and briefs.

The ter re-tenant’s principal contention in support of the rule is that the lien of the judgment as against the land of the terre-tenant was lost, because the scire facias to revive had not issued until more than five years had elapsed from the entry of the original judgment.

The question presented has been repeatedly before our appellate courts, which have determined it at some variance. To in some measure harmonize them, and to gather the purport of the controlling authorities, we should first consider the acts of assembly governing the lien and revival of judgments. These acts are four in number, as follows: section 2 of the Act of April 4, 1798, 3 Sm. L. 331, 12 PS §864, and also section 3; section 1 of the Act of March 26, 1827, 9 Sm. L. 303, and section 1 of the Act, of June 1, 1887, P. L. 289, amending the Act of 1827, supra; section 8 of the Act of April 16, 1849, P. L. 663, 12 PS §872.

[The court here quoted the relevant statutes in full.]

Section 2 of the Act of 1798 and the Act of 1827 purport to restrict the lien of a judgment to the period of five years following its entry. . . .

[The court here proceeded to quote at length from Lyon, to use, v. Cleveland, 170 Pa. 611, Fetterman v. Murphy, 4 Watts 424, Brown’s Appeal, 91 Pa. 485, McCahan v. Elliott, 103 Pa. 634, Shannon v. Newton, 132 Pa. 375, and Le Bar et al., to use, v. Patterson, 123 Pa. Superior Ct. 491.]

Therefore, beginning with The Bank of North America v. Fitzsimons, 3 Binn. 342 (1811), if not sooner, the courts have uniformly held to the present that, as between the original plaintiff and defendant, the lien of a judgment as against the land of a defendant was not confined to a period of five years from the entry of the judgment, but continued for possibly 20 years after entry, and that the Acts of 1798, 1827, and 1887 were operative only as [142]*142to grantees, mortgagees, and other judgment creditors. Hence, in the matter before us, we need only consider the rights of plaintiff as against the land conveyed by defendants, and of which Albert H. Gredel is now terre-tenant, insofar as the same are established, defined, and limited by the aforesaid acts of assembly.

[The court then proceeded to discuss and quote at length from Little v. Smyser, 10 Pa. 381, Zerns, etc., v. Watson, for use, 11 Pa. 260, Fursht v. Overdeer, 3 W. & S. 470, and to cite First National Bank & Trust Co. et al. v. Miller et al., 322 Pa. 473.]

From the foregoing authorities we conclude: That the Acts of 1798 and 1827, as amended by the Act of 1887, limit the lien of a judgment to five years from the date of its entry as against grantees, mortgagees, and intervening judgment creditors; that in order to continue as a lien beyond the five years, as against grantees, mortgagees, and intervening judgment creditors, judgment must be revived by agreement or by scire facias within the five years of entry of the judgment; and that, to effect the revival, as against terre-tenants, if such can be ascertained by possession or examination of public records, such terre-tenant must sign an agreement of revival, or be named in the writ of scire facias; else, at the expiration of five years from the entry of the judgment, its lien against the land of the terre-tenant is lost. These conclusions are consistent with the clear text of the acts and are supported by all ascertainable authority.

The question here arises: How can the Act of 1849, and the decisions thereon, be harmonized with our foregoing conclusions? As an aid to sequence of discussion, we again quote the Act of 1849 in full:

[The court here proceeded again to quote the Act of 1849, and then discussed at length Porter v. Hitchcock, 98 Pa. 625, Wetmore v. Wetmore, 155 Pa. 507, and Uhler v. Moses, 200 Pa. 498. Referring to the last-mentioned case, the court continued:]

[143]*143In holding that the Act of 1887 did not repeal the Act of 1849 the Supreme Court did not reverse its past rulings on the Acts of 1798, 1827, and 1887, to the effect that a terre-tenant whose deed is on record must be made a party to the scire facias to revive, and that a revival without notice to such a terre-tenant is a nullity. What was decided with respect to terre-tenants whose deeds were recorded under the Act of 1849 was (p. 502) : “It [the lien] was to continue five years from the date the terre-tenant’s deed was recorded, under the act of 1849.” All that the Act of 1849 did, as decided by Mr. Justice Dean, was to extend the lien of a judgment as against the land of the terre-tenant for a period of five years from the recording of the terre-tenant’s deed. The Uhler ease could not and did not hold that the scire facias against defendant alone revived the judgment as against the terre-tenant whose deed was on record, but who received no notice. To have so held would have annulled the plain provisions of the Acts of 1798, 1827, and 1887. There was nothing inconsistent and it was within the power of the legislature, by the Act of 1849, to extend the lien of valid judgments against terre-tenants whose deeds as grantees were on record. Therefore, Justice Dean did not decide that the land could be sold on the fieri facias because the judgment had been revived, for it had not been revived against the terre-tenant until over five years from the date of the entry of the judgment.

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Bluebook (online)
39 Pa. D. & C. 139, 1940 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/klein-v-anderson-pactcomplbeaver-1940.