McArthur v. Leffler

10 N.E. 81, 110 Ind. 526, 1887 Ind. LEXIS 95
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 25, 1887
DocketNo. 13,079
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 10 N.E. 81 (McArthur v. Leffler) 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
McArthur v. Leffler, 10 N.E. 81, 110 Ind. 526, 1887 Ind. LEXIS 95 (Ind. 1887).

Opinion

Howk, J.

In this case, the only error assigned by appellant, the plaintiff below, is the sustaining of appellee’s demurrer to his complaint.

Appellant’s complaint is in the nature of a bill in equity to obtain the review of a personal judgment rendered against him by the court below, in favor of appellee, for manifest ■errors, as alleged, appearing in the record. In his complaint, appellant alleged that, on the 1st day of October, 1884, appellee Leffler filed in the clerk’s office of the Starke Circuit Court, his complaint against appellant McArthur, wherein he demanded that a certain mortgage upon real estate in Starke county, Indiana, and the promissory notes secured thereby, described in said complaint, be cancelled and held for naught; that, on the same day, appellee filed with his ■complaint an affidavit of the non-residence of appellant and for publication of notice; that, on the same day, a summons was issued on such complaint to the sheriff of Starke county, and was by him duly returned, endorsed not found,” as the said Charles H. McArthur was not found in his bailiwick; that afterwards, on the 14th day of January, 1885, being the ninth judicial day of the January term, 1885, of the Starke Circuit Court, appellant, then and since a non-resident of this State, appeared by Murphy and Gould, his attorneys, and filed a demurrer to appellee’s complaint, which demurrer was overruled by the court, and appellant’s attorneys at the time excepted; that, on the day last named, appellant’s attorneys moved the court upon affidavit for a change ■of venue from Starke county, which motion was sustained, [528]*528and the venue of th’e cause was changed to Pulaski county, and such change was duly perfected; that afterwards, on the-7th day of September, 1885, being the first judicial day of the September term, 1885, of the Pulaski Circuit Court, Messrs. Murphy and Gould, the only attorneys for appellant in said cause, withdrew their appearance therein for the appellant, by leave and order of such court, which was evidenced by an entry in the proper order-book of such court and signed by the judge, in the words and figures following,. to wit:

“ Conrad Leffler vs. Charles H. McArthur.

“ Come now Murphy and Gould, attorneys for defendant,, and ask leave of court to withdraw their appearance herein, also to withdraw the demurrer to complaint and their papers, all of which is granted by the court.”

Appellant further alleged that ■ afterwards, on September 9th, 1885, being the third judicial day of the same term of' the court below, when appellant McArthur was not present in court, and when Murphy and Gould, attorneys as aforesaid,, were absent, the court, without the consent of appellant, or-of Murphy and Gould, changed and amended the record of' the aforesaid entry to read as follows:

“Come now Murphy and Gould, attorneys for defendant,, and ask leave of court to withdraw their appearance, also to withdraw demurrer to complaint and the papers. The court sustains motion to withdraw appearance, and overrules motion to withdraw papers.”

Appellant further averred that he, not being in court, was-then ruled to answer instanier, and, failing to answer, he was then and there defaulted; that afterwards, on the seventeenth judicial day of the same term of such court, appellee took a personal judgment in said cause against the appellant for five thousand dollars, and costs taxed at-dollars,. without having had personal or other service on appellant,, or without his being in court either in person or by attorney.. [529]*529A true and complete transcript of the record in said cause was filed with and made part Of the complaint herein.

Appellant then averred that up to the time his sole attorneys, Murphy and Gould, withdrew their appearance for him 'in said cause, the only prayer of appellee’s complaint therein was.for the cancellation of said mortgage and notes; but that afterwards appellee, by his counsel, surreptitiously, fraudulently and without right, so amended his complaint as to ask a personal judgment of five thousand dollars against the appellant herein, and that without the service of sum'mons on him, and without his being in court, the appellant ■said that the following words, to wit: “And the plaintiff is informed that said defendant claims to have sold, and that one David Sturges claims to have purchased said notes mentioned, without notice, before due, for a valuable consideration, in the usual course of business, and before the commencement of this action,” and the following words, to wit: '“And the plaintiff asks that, if it shall appear on the trial hereof that said McArthur has sold said notes before maturity for value, without notice of this, the plaintiff’s demands, then the plaintiff demands judgment for five thousand •dollars,” etc., made and constituted the surreptitious, fraudulent and unlawful amendments aforesaid. And appellant said there was manifest error apparent in the record of said •cause, in this, to wit:

1. The Starke Circuit Court erred in overruling appellant’s demurrer to appellee’s complaint herein.

2. The Pulaski Circuit Court erred in ruling appellant to answer instawter, after his attorneys had, by leave of court, withdrawn their appearance for him, he not otherwise appearing in said cause.

3. It was error for appellee to amend his complaint, after defaulting appellant, so as to ask a personal judgment, when, prior thereto, he had asked for a judgment in rem only, and [530]*530when appellant was not in court either in person or by attorney. • ■

4. The court erred in rendering a personal judgment against appellant, when there had been no personal or other service of process ,on him, and when his only attorneys had withdrawn their appearance for him, with leave of the court,, and he did not otherwise appear in such action.

5. The personal judgment of $5,000 against appellant was wholly null and void, for want of service of summons on him, he not appearing in person or by attorney.

6. The appellee’s complaint, whereon the so-called judgment was rendered, did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action, for the reason, among others, that copies of the notes and mortgage, sought to be cancelled, were not. filed therewith.

Wherefore appellant prayed that said cause should be reviewed by the court below, and that such judgment should be reversed for the aforesaid errors of law therein, and for all other proper relief.

The appellant’s complaint herein was verified by affidavit.

Appellee’s demurrer to the complaint, for the alleged insufficiency of the facts therein to constitute a cause of action, was sustained by the court, and final judgment was rendered in the cause, in accordance with such ruling.

Did the court err in sustaining appellee’s demurrer to appellant’s complaint for review, the substance of which we have given? We are of opinion that this question ought to be, and must be, answered in the affirmative. It may be conceded that, upon the facts stated in such complaint, if the appellee had objected to the withdrawal of appellant’s appearance in the original action, it would have been error to have overruled such objection, and to have permitted such appearance to be withdrawn. Indeed, upon the facts stated, it would have been competent for the court in its own discretion, without any objection on the part of appellee, to have denied the leave requested for the withdrawal of appellant’s appearance.,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
10 N.E. 81, 110 Ind. 526, 1887 Ind. LEXIS 95, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcarthur-v-leffler-ind-1887.