Safford v. Knight

117 Mass. 281
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court·Decided March 3, 1875·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

By the Court.

This case is governed by that of Thayer v. Goddard, 19 Pick. 60. The General Statutes upon the subject of reviews, though expressed in a more condensed form than the Revised Statutes, do not appear, and cannot fairly be construed, to have been intended as limiting the power of the courts to reverse the former judgment, in whole or in part, or to render such other judgment as may be required to do full justice to each party. Gen. Sts. c. 126, § 8; c. 146, §§ 19, 32. Fuller v. Storer, 111 Mass. 281. Exceptions overruled.

The writ of review was then issued, returnable at October term 1873 of the Superior Court. On the return day, and after entry [283] of the writ, the plaintiffs in review produced Williams in court, and offered to surrender him, and, having tendered the costs of the scire facias to the plaintiff therein, and their tender having been refused, offered to pay the same into court, and moved the court to reverse the judgment on scire facias, and to discharge them from their liability as bail. Rockwell, J., declined so to do, and made the following order: “ The debtor surrendered into court cannot be committed to jail, because the scire facias is not now pending. Should the judgment in the scire facias be reversed or annulled in the action in review, the court may then allow time for the surrender by the bail, during which time the scire facias will be pending. The prisoner is now discharged from custody in this court, without prejudice to the right of the bail to surrender him at the proper time, but it seems a discharge of the bail would now be premature.” “ To which order, and refusal to order, so far as it affects the rights of the plaintiffs in review,” they alleged exceptions, which were allowed, and forthwith entered in this court, and argued in March, 1874.

R. Stone, Jr., for the plaintiffs in review. S. L. Sazelton, for the defendant in review.

By the Court. The question presented by these exceptions is not properly before us, and we cannot therefore give any judicial opinion upon it. Exceptions to the rulings made by the Superior Court in the course of proceedings in any case cannot be entered in this court until after final disposition in the court below of the case in which the exceptions are taken. Commonwealth v. Sallen, 11 Gray, 52. Bursley v. Barnstable, 14 Gray, 106. Marshall v. Merritt, 13 Allen, 274. Commonwealth v. Gloucester, 110 Mass. 491. No final judgment having been rendered on the writ of review, the present entry must be

Exceptions dismissed *

B. M. Morse, Jr. (B. Stone, Jr. with him,) for the plaintiffs in review. . B. B. Smith, (üT. L. Hazelton with him,) for the defendant in review.

At April term 1874 of the Superior Court, the plaintiffs in review renewed their motion to reverse the judgment on the scire facias, and to discharge them from their liability as bail; and further asked that if, upon the reversal of that judgment, it should appear necessary that they should make surrender of the principal other than as already made, they might be allowed time in which to make such surrender. But Bacon, J., “ ruled pro forma as matter of law that the surrender already made was invalid because the judgment in scire facias was not reversed, and that the judgment could not be reversed solely for the purpose of allowing the plaintiffs in review to make the surrender, and ordered judgment to be entered for the defendant in review.”

The plaintiffs in review then tendered a bill of exceptions reciting and excepting to the rulings and refusals of Bo clew ell, J., at October term 1873, (as stated in the bill of exceptions then allowed, and above set forth,) and also those of Bacon, J., at April term 1874, and this bill of exceptions was allowed and signed by both judges.

Gray, C. J. A review, under our statutes, is equivalent to a new trial after judgment. Everything is open upon the review which might have been suggested in the original action. Good v. Lehan, 8 Cush. 299. Anderson v. Brown, 10 Gray, 92. The original judgment is not indeed set aside, but stands until the [285] judgment in the review, which may affirm, reverse or modify the former judgment, in whole or in part, or make such other disposition of the case as may be necessary to secure the just and legal rights of all parties. Foster v. Plummer, 3 Cush. 381. Gifford v. Whalon, 8 Cush. 428. Brown v. Brigham, 5 Allen, 582. Fuller v. Storer, 111 Mass. 281.

After the return and entry of the writ of review, this case should have been treated by the court as if the scire facias were still pending ; and the bail had the same right to surrender their principal that they would have had, under the Gen. Sts. c. 125, § 12, before judgment in the scire facias, and were not obliged, for the purpose of making such surrender, to wait until after judgment upon the review. Indeed, after that judgment had been entered, the case would be finally disposed of, and it would be too late for a surrender of the principal.

In Swett v. Sullivan, 7 Mass. 342, 348, Chief Justice Parsons said that after the entry of final judgment in the original action, “ and until the return and entry of the writ of review, no suit would be pending so that the bail could surrender their principal ” — clearly implying that after the entry of the writ of review such surrender could be made.

In Thayer v. Goddard, 19 Pick. 60, 64, Chief Justice Shaw said that in Jones v. Howland, decided in 1830, and not reported, “the court reversed a judgment rendered on scire facias against bail, and accepted the surrender of the principal in discharge of bail, in the same manner as if no judgment against the bail had been rendered.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Safford v. Knight, 117 Mass. 281 (Mass. 1875).

117 Mass. 281 (Safford v. Knight) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Whitney v. Porter
146 N.E. 771 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1925)
Lynn Gas & Electric Co. v. Creditors National Clearing House
235 Mass. 114 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1920)
Weil v. Boston Elevated Railway Co.
104 N.E. 343 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1914)
Farris v. St. Paul's Baptist Church
104 N.E. 639 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1914)
Brooks v. Shaw
84 N.E. 110 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1908)
Crossin v. Beebe
72 N.E. 65 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1904)
Lowd v. Brigham
154 Mass. 107 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1891)
Hamilton v. Farrar
131 Mass. 572 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1881)
West v. Platt
124 Mass. 353 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1878)
Crompton Carpet Co. v. City of Worcester
119 Mass. 375 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1876)
Harding v. Pratt
119 Mass. 188 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1875)
Gifford v. Rockett
119 Mass. 71 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1875)