Rice v. American National Bank

3 Colo. App. 81
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 15, 1893
StatusPublished

This text of 3 Colo. App. 81 (Rice v. American National Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rice v. American National Bank, 3 Colo. App. 81 (Colo. Ct. App. 1893).

Opinion

Richmond, P. J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

By the complaint of the American National Bank of Denver, plaintiff below, it is averred in substance that on the 27th day of July, 1891, F. R. Rice and oth.ers caused to be served on the bank a writ of garnishment issued by P.L. Palmer, a justice of the peace, in a cause wherein said Rice and others were plaintiffs and one John Noonan was defendant ; that by said writ plaintiff was required to appear before the justice of the peace on the first day of July, 1891, to answer whether it was in any manner indebted to Noonan.

It is also alleged that a summons and writ of attachment, which was served simultaneously with the garnishee process, was issued on the same day, and required Noonan to appear and answer on the same date; that on the 6th of August, 1891, a writ of scire facias was issued by the same justice, reciting that on the 1st day of August, 1891, the said Rice and others recovered a judgment against Noonan for the sum of $166 ; that said judgment remained in full force and unsatisfied ; and that on the 27th day of. July the bank was summoned as garnishee to appear before the justice on the 1st day of July, 1891; that the bank having failed to appear and to answer according to the statute, a conditional judgment was entered against it for the amount of the judgment recovered against Noonan, and it was required to appear and. show cause why the conditional judgment should not be made final.

It appears from the record that final judgment was entered on or about the 24th day of August of the sanie jrear against the bank for $180.10, besides costs ; that no appearance either by the defendant, Noonan, or by the bank was at any time made in the justice’s court. Upon the filing of [83]*83the complaint an injunction was issued restraining the justice from further proceeding in the premises. Demurrer was •filed to the complaint, which was overruled and the temporary-injunction was made permanent. Plaintiffs in error elected to stand by the demurrer and prosecute this writ of error.

The sole question presénted for our consideration is, whether or not the judgment entered by the justice against the defendant as well as against the bank was valid.

It is apparent from the above recital that the process commanded the defendant in the'original proceedings as well as the bank to appear before the justice at an impossible time. Yet, nevertheless, it is contended by the plaintiffs in error that the judgment entered was valid, because both the defendant and the garnishee failed to appear and take some steps to prevent a judgment- being entered. In other words, that notwithstanding they were commanded to appear upon a day long since past, still they were obliged to attend at some date subsequent to service and move the court to quash the summons. With this contention we cannot agree, and we do not think the authorities support it.

It is provided by section 1936, General Laws, 1883, that the justice in his summons shall specify a certain place, day and hour for the trial, not less than five nor more than fifteen days from the date of such summons.

By section 1910, it is provided that if the defendant, being served with process, shall not appear at the hour appointed for his appearance in such process, or in one hour thereafter, then the justice shall proceed to hear and determine the cause.

Section 1558 provides that after a conditional judgment has been entered the justice may issue a scire facias commanding the garnishee to appear on the return day of the writ and show why the conditional judgment should not be made final and conclusive.

We are clearly of the opinion that the provision of the statute requiring the summons of the justice to specify the place, day and hour, in the process when the party should [84]*84appear before him is mandatory, and should have been strictly followed. That the failure of the parties to appear on the 1st of August, or at a time subsequent to the 27th of July,, confers no jurisdiction upon the justice to proceed to judgment. To say that- the defendant and garnishee well knew that the time specified in the summons was a clerical error is to impose upon him the burden of determining the place, the day and the hour when he should appear. It puts upon him a duty which by the statute is imposed upon the justice issuing the process. He must determine whether the process was issued in June and returnable in July, or whether issued in July and returnable in August. We think the condition of things places it more within the ability of the justice to observe the errors into which he had fallen, than with that of the parties upon whom process was served.

The rule as we find it laid down in the books is, where the statute provides that the place, day and hour shall be specified, it must be followed strictly; and that service for an insufficient period is as inoperative to confer jurisdiction of the person, as service in some other mode than that required by the statute, and that failure to conform to the provisions of the statute is in violation of it. It follows therefore that a judgment is utterly void when the jurisdiction of the person is based upon such a process. Johnson v. Baker, 38 Ill. 98.

A judgment rendered bjr a justice of the peace against the defendant in an action four days before the return day of the summons is void. Briggs v. Tye, 16 Kans. 285.

Where a justice of the peace calls an action, on the return day of the summons, at a different place from that named in the summons (the defendant not appearing and waiving the objection) he loses jurisdiction. Newcomb v. Town of Trempealeau, 24 Wis. 459.

The day and hour fixed in the summons for its return is the period when the justice takes jurisdiction of the action, and not the time when he issues the summons.

If a justice proceed without having acquired jurisdiction over the parties in the form and in the manner required by [85]*85law, any judgment which he may render will be absolutely void. Sagendorph v. Shult, 41 Barb. 102; Johnson et al. v. Baker, supra.

It is insisted that notwithstanding the judgment may have been void, nevertheless scire facias was issued and the bank was cited to appear to show cause why the conditional judgment should not be made final, and that this of itself is sufficient to preclude the bank. With this.contention we do not agree. If the conditional judgment was void, there was nothing upon which the scire facias could rest. No scire facias could issue save and except by authority of the statute, and the provision of the statute is that in case the garnishee being duly served with process as provided by the act shall fail to appear at the time and place in the process fixed for his appearance, default may be taken and conditional judgment rendered against such garnishee; thereupon scire facias may issue.

A careful reading of the statute leads us unmistakably to the conclusion that the conditional judgment is based upon the failure of the garnishee to appear at the time and place fixed by the process. If the process be insufficient in its failure to fix the time and place, then no conditional judgment can be rendered, and consequently the condition precedent to the issuance of scire facias does not exist, and the defendant was under no obligation to appear and defend.

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Related

Sagendorph v. Shult
41 Barb. 102 (New York Supreme Court, 1863)
Newcomb v. Town of Trempealeau
24 Wis. 459 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1869)
McDonald v. Vinette
17 N.W. 319 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1883)
Edler v. Hasche
31 N.W. 57 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1887)
Johnson v. Baker
38 Ill. 98 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1865)
Padden v. Moore
12 N.W. 724 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1882)
Briggs v. Tye
16 Kan. 285 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1876)

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Bluebook (online)
3 Colo. App. 81, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rice-v-american-national-bank-coloctapp-1893.