Moore v. . Packer

94 S.E. 449, 174 N.C. 665, 1917 N.C. LEXIS 168

• Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina
• Decided: December 5, 1917
• Status: Published

Opinion

Allen, J.

The plaintiff W. C. Moore, Jr., filed an answer and entered a general appearance in the former action, and he and his co-plaintiff filed the bond conditioned to pay the damages recovered, and. both of them excepted to and gave notice of appeal from the judgment rendered.

This conduct on the part of the plaintiffs amounted to a general, appearance and gave the court jurisdiction of the parties (Chadbourn v. Johnson, 119 N. C., 282), and as it also had jurisdiction of the subject-matter, the judgment rendered is not void.

“Where a defendant has never been served with process, nor appeared, in person or by attorney, a judgment against him is not simply voidable, but void; and it may be so treated whenever and wherever offered, without any direct proceedings to vacate it. And the reason is, that the-want of service of process and the want of appearance is shown by the-record itself whenever it is offered. It would be otherwise if the record showed service of process or appearance when in fact there had been none. In such case the judgment would be apparently regular and would be conclusive until, by a direct proceeding for the purpose, it would be vacated.” Doyle v. Brown, 72 N. C., 396.

If an erroneous judgment, it is an estoppel between the parties until corrected by appeal (Weeks v. McPhail, 128 N. C., 131), and if “they (the plaintiffs) wish to attack it for irregularity, it must be done by motion in the original cause” (Harris v. Bennett, 160 N. C., 344), and not by a new action.

The distinctions between the different kinds of judgments and the remedies afforded for correcting errors in them are accurately and clearly stated in Garter v. Rountree, 109 N. C., 32, as follows:

“Judgments may be void, irregular or erroneous. A void judgment is one that has merely semblance, without some essential element or elements, as where the court purporting to render it has not jurisdiction. An irregular judgment is one entered contrary to the course of the court, contrary to the method of procedure .and practice under it allowed by law in some material respect, as if the court gave judgment without the intervention of a jury in a case where the party complaining was entitled to a jury and did not waive his right to the same. Vass v. Building Assn., 91 N. C., 55; McKee v. Angel, 90 N. C., 60. An erroneous judgment is one rendered contrary to law. The latter cannot be attacked collaterally at all, but it must remain and have effect until by appeal to a court of errors it shall be reversed or modified. An irregular judgment may ordinarily and generally be set aside by a motion for the purpose in the action. This is so because in such case a judgment was entered contrary to the course of the court by inadvertence, mistake, or the like. A void judgment is without life or force, and the Court will quash it on motion, or ex mero motu. Indeed, when it appears to be void, it may and will be ignored everywhere and treated as a mere nullity.”

As, therefore, the judgment is not void, the court having jurisdiction, the plaintiffs are not entitled to the relief prayed for, and there was no error in dissolving the restraining order.

Affirmed.

Hoke, J., not sitting.