Lyttle v. Cozad

21 W. Va. 183, 1882 W. Va. LEXIS 86
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 9, 1882
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 21 W. Va. 183 (Lyttle v. Cozad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lyttle v. Cozad, 21 W. Va. 183, 1882 W. Va. LEXIS 86 (W. Va. 1882).

Opinion

Green, Judge,

announced the opinion of the Court:

The first question presented by this record is, whether the circuit court ought not to haim dismissed the bill, because of the want of jurisdiction on the part-- of a court of equity in the case; there being no affidavit accompanying the bill, of the -loss of the bond of the commissioner of sale, which bond the plaintiffs sought.in this suit to enforce. The bill was not verified by affidavit, nor was any affidavit fileduvith the bill of the fact of the bond having been lost. The bill aauis filed at January rules, 1874. On March 5, 1874, J. M. Bennett filed his ausAver, in which he insists, that the plaintiffs’ remedy is at laAAq and objected to the jurisdiction of a court of equity in the case, because no affidavit was filed with bill of loss ot this bond. On September 8,1874, the plaintiffs’ attorney filed his affidavit stating, that this bond aauis lost AAdienthis suit was instituted, and could not then be found on diligent search, though it was found some time afteiwards AAThere it had been improperly placed by one of the obligors in the bond. The first hearing of the case did not take place till July 25, 1875. The truth of this affidavit having been fully proven in'the meantime, by depositions, and the court then decided, that this bond was valid and referred the cause to a commissioner, thus assuming jurisdiction of the case. Bid the court err in this ?

Courts of equity have always taken jurisdiction to enforce a bond, which has been lost. Originally this jurisdiction was assumed, because the common laAv courts furnished no [196]*196redress in such a case, as they required in a declaration on a bond proferí of the bond, and no excuse in the declaration was regarded as sufficient to dispense with such proferí. See Whitefield v. Fausset, 1 Ves. 392; East India Company v. Boddam, 9 Ves. 466. This rule oí the common law was after-wards changed, and these courts assumed jurisdiction of suits on lost bonds. The allegation in the declaration, that the bond was lost being held to dispense with the proferí of it. See Read v. Brookman, 3 T. R. 151; Totty v. Nesbitt, 3 T. R. 153 note. Yet, this assumption of jurisdiction by the common law courts was held by courts of equity, in accordance with a general principle applicable generally to all cases of extension of jurisdiction by the common law courts, that they still continued to have jurisdiction to furnish redress upon lost bonds. See Walmsley v. Child, 1 Ves. 341; Kemp v. Pryor, 7 Ves. 249; Evans v. Bicknell, 6 Ves. 182; Mayne v. Griswold, Sandf. S. C. 478; Hickman v. Painter, 11 W. Va. 386; Mitchell v. Chancellor, 14 W. Va. 22.

In such cases, courts of equity required an affidavit to accompany the bill, when the party sought relief in the court of equity and not simply discovery, that the bond was lost and the plaintiff at the hearing had to establish satisfactorily such loss. For it was the foundation on which the court assumed jurisdiction. See East India Company v. Boddam, 9 Ves. 466; Stokoe v. Robson, 3 Ves. & B. 50. But these rules have been somewhat relaxed in this country. Thus in Graham v. Hackwith, 1 A. K. Marshall (Ky.) 424 it was held, that the affidavit might be dispensed with if the loss be clearly shown. This case however does not show, that objection to the jurisdiction of the court was made in the answer. It is silent on this point, being very imperfectly reported.

In the case of Cabell’s Ex’ors v. Megginson’s Adm’r, 6 Munf. 202, there was no affidavit of the loss of the bond, but the jurisdiction of the court was sustained, and in that case the court below dismissed the bill for want of jurisdiction and the court of appeals reversed the decision, though the record failed to show, that any objection was made in the court below to the jurisdiction of the court for want of such affidavit.

[197]*197In the case of Thornton v. Stewart, 7 Leigh. 128, the bill stated, that the bond was lost but there was no affidavit of its loss accompanying the bill, nor was the bill sworn to. The answer made no objection to the jurisdiction of the court on that account. Many years after, but before the hearing, an affidavit of the loss of the bond before the institution of the suit was filed, and the court below decreed in favor of the plaintiff on the lost bond. The appellate court was of opinion, that the plaintiff, on the pleadings and proof then in the-case, was not entitled to a decree and remanded the cause for further proceedings. Judge Tucker in delivering the opinion of the court says: “I do not concur in the objection to the assumption of jurisdiction, being satisfied with the affidavit as fo the loss of the bond; for though it was not filed with the bill, it is one of those defects, which I think, may well be supplied in the progress of the cause, when there has been no demurrer to the -bill for want of it.”

It seems to me, that this decision was right and even if there had been a demurrer to the bill, on well established principles, the court ought not to have dismissed the suit without giving the plaintiff leave to amend his bill and accompany the amended bill with an affidavit, that the bond avus lost when the suit was instituted. The failure therefore, of the plaintiffs in this case, to accompany their bill with an affidavit of the loss of the bond, was a defect cured by .the filing of such affidavit and by the proof of the loss before the first, hearing of the cause. But, when the cause was first heard,the lost bond had been found; this however would not defeat the jurisdiction of the court. See Crawford v. Summers, 3 J. J. Marshall (Ky.) 300; Miller v. Wells, 5 Mo. 6.

In this case a court of equity had jurisdiction ot the case stated in the bill, even had there been no allegation of the loss of the bond; for one of the objects of the suit was, according to the bill, to determine whether the defendant, Jonathan M. Bennett, did nothave on his hands a trust-fund left with him to be applied to the payment of the plaintiffs demand. A court of equity alone had jurisdiction of such matter, and could alone inquire into the question, whether there Avas or was not such trust; and if it found that there [198]*198was, to direct the funds in Bennett’s bands to be applied to the plaintiff’s demand.

No affidavit o.f the loss of a bond is required, where the case stated in the bill would give-a court of equity jurisdiction, independently of the loss of the bond. Such affidavitis only required, where if the bond had not been lost, the only remedy of the party would have been at law and not in chancery. Purviance et al. v. Holt, 3 Gilmar, Rep. (Ill.) p. 404. So too, the bill sought to make the land bought by the purchaser, "Wf A. Bott, liable for the plaintiff’s demand, if the commissioner’s bond was, as claimed, invalid. A vendor’s lien had been retained on the land for the purchase-money, and it was unpaid if this commissioner’s bond was invalid, as the commissioner would, in that case, have had no authority to collect the purchase-monejA This object of the bill could only be carried out by a court of equity, -and therefore if the commissioner’s bond had not been lost, a court of equity in this case would have had jurisdiction.

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Bluebook (online)
21 W. Va. 183, 1882 W. Va. LEXIS 86, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lyttle-v-cozad-wva-1882.