McCornick v. Friedman

65 P. 440, 7 Idaho 686, 1901 Ida. LEXIS 33
Idaho Supreme Court·Decided June 4, 1901·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

QUARLES, C. J.

This is an action in ejectment to recover-certain real estate. Upon the trial the plaintiff, who is appellant here, offered in evidence the judgment-roll in an action commenced by the Salt Lake Milling and Elevator Company against, S. M. Freidman, one of the defendants in this action, in which action the plaintiff recovered judgment for the sum of $1,321.03,. with costs taxed at fifty-two dollars and fifty-five cents, December 7, 1893. Upon this judgment an execution was issued on, [688] December 5, 1895, and levied upon said property, and after due advertisement the sheriff of Blaine county sold said premises, at which time and place the same were struck off and sold, under said execution sale, to the judgment plaintiff, the Salt Lake Milling and Elevator Company, and certificate of sale duly executed to it by the -said sheriff. Afterward said purchaser assigned and transferred its said purchase to the appellant, to whom the sheriff of said county executed a sheriff’s deed for the premises in question to the appellant. These facts are set forth in the complaint, and it is also alleged that the value of the use and occupation of said premises from the 26th of January, 1896, to the .time the action was commenced, was and is the sum of thirty dollars per month, and plaintiff demands judgment for the possession of said premises and the sum of $1,440 for the use and occupation thereof. The answer does not deny the recovery of the said judgment; nor does it deny the issuance of the execution thereunder, nor the sale under such execution, nor the execution of said certificate of sale, nor the purchase by appellant from the purchaser at said sale; nor does it deny the execution of the said deed by the sheriff. The answer does deny that the defendant S. M. Friedman was the owner, and alleged a conveyance of said premises to said defendant Friedman to the defendant Henry M. Cohn, which conveyance is alleged to have been made on December 7, 1893, the date that said judgment was entered and docketed. Defendant further alleges a conveyance from the defendant Henry M. Cohn to the defendant Emil M. Friedman. The answer further alleges: “And the defendants further answer that the plaintiff and his predecessors in interest never acquired any claim upon or interest in or to said premises by virtue of the judgment or execution, certificate of sale, or sheriff’s deed, set forth in the complaint, against the said Henry M. Cohn or Emil M. Friedman; and deny that the plaintiff is or ever was entitled to the immediate, or any, possession of said premises, or that he or his grantor has ever been entitled to the use or occupancy, possession, or control of said premises, or any part thereof, or that the plaintiff is entitled to the sum of thirty dollars per month, or any sum whatever, from these defendants, or either of them, [689] for the use or occupancy of said premises; and deny that the said deeds of conveyance to Henry M. Cohn, and from him to the defendant Emil M. Friedman, are or were subsequent to or subject to the alleged lien of said judgment mentioned in plaintiff’s complaint, or that the said defendants Cohn or Friedman, or the other defendants, were fully or partially aware of any alleged lien or claim of the plaintiff against said premises; and deny that the defendants have either wrongfully or unlawfully, during all the time mentioned in the complaint or otherwise, held possession of said premises, or wrongfully or unlawfully refused to deliver the same to the plaintiff, but held and possessed the same as the property of Henry M. Cohn and Emil M. Friedman, as they at all times during the times mentioned in the complaint had held and now lawfully hold the same, and claim the lawful right to hold and possess the same as their own estate and property.”

It will thus be seen that the rendition, entry, and docketing of said judgment, the issuance of execution thereunder, the sale of the premises in dispute at execution sale, and the execution of sheriff’s deed to appellant, were all admitted by the pleadings. The cause came on for trial before the court and a jury. When the plaintiff offered in evidence said judgment-roll, the defendants objected, upon the ground that no findings of fact appeared in said judgment-roll. This objection the court sustained. The plaintiff then offered in evidence the original judgment book of the court, showing the judgment under which said execution issued, to which defendants objected, and which objection the court sustained. The plaintiff then offered in evidence the execution and return thereof, showing levy and sale and certificate of sale, and .sheriff’s deed, to which the defendants objected, and which objection was sustained by the court. These objections were all sustained upon the idea that, no findings appearing in the judgment-roll, the court did not, in the original action, have jurisdiction to render the judgment, and that the judgment for that reason was void. The defendants then moved for a peremptory instruction, which motion was granted by the court in the following language: “Gentlemen of the Jury: By reason of the court’s [690] ruling upon a number of questions that have come up — that is, the legal questions in this case — the court practically takes the issues out of your hands, and assumes the responsibility of deciding this case itself, and for that reason will give you this instruction: You are instructed to find a verdict in this ease in favor of the defendants. You will sign this verdict, if you find it to be yours, by your foreman.” To the giving of this instruction the appellant then and there duty excepted. The jury brought in a verdict in accordance with said instruction, whereupon judgment was entered in favor of the defendants. The plaintiff moved for a new trial, which being denied, he brings this appeal from the judgment and also from the order denying a new trial.

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McCornick v. Friedman, 65 P. 440, 7 Idaho 686, 1901 Ida. LEXIS 33 (Idaho 1901).

65 P. 440 (McCornick v. Friedman) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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