Sammis v. James

31 Fla. 10
Supreme Court of Florida·Decided January 15, 1893·Published·Cited by 30 cases

Opinion

Rakey, C. J.:

As shown by the preceding statement, this is an action instituted in the Circuit Court of Duval county in this State on a judgment recovered by James S. Wight-man, suing for the use of James and Lucetta Marcher, [24] against John S. Sammis in the Supreme Court of the city and county of New York in the state of New York.

The assignments of error are as follows: 1st. Sustaming the demurrer to the 2d. 3d and 4th pleas filed December 7th, 1884; 2d. Sustaining the demurrer to the 2d and 3d amended pleas filed November 9th, 1886; 3d. Sustaining the demurrer to the 4th and 5th pleas filed November 17th, 1886; 4th. The refusal to permit defendant to file the plea of plene administramt, offered January 11th, 1887; 5th. The refusal to charge the jury as requested by defendant; and, 6th. Entering the stated judgment.

It may be safely asserted that where a final judgment has been recovered against a person in a court of one state, and an action is brought on that judgment in a court of another state, the question of the former tribunal’s jurisdiction of the person sued is open to inquiry and adjudication in the latter court; but where the former tribunal has acquired jurisdiction of the person of the defendant against whom it rendered judgment, its adjudication of the merits of the controversy, assuming always that the court had jurisdiction of the subject-matter of the suit, is conclusive upon the courts of a sister state. These principles have been established with reference to the provisions of Section 1 of Article IY of the Constitution of the United States, that “full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the * * judicial proceedings [25] of any other State;” and “Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such proceedings shall be proved and the effect thereof,” and those of the act of Congress thereunder, Sec. 905 R. S. U. S., ed. 1878, prescribing the mode of authenticating such proceedings, and that “judicial proceedings so authenticated, shall have such faith and credit given to them in every court within the United States as they have by law or usage in the courts of the state from which they are taken.” These principles are sustained by the following authorities: Braswell vs. Downs, 11 Fla., 62; Drake vs. Granger, 22 Fla., 348; Freeman on Judgments (4th ed.), 550-556; Black on Judgments, Secs. 856, 857, 867, 883, 889, 894-897, 898; Miles vs. Duryee, 7 Cranch, 481; Hampton vs. McConnell, 3 Wheaton, 234; McElmore vs. Cohen, 13 Peters, 312; Christmas vs. Russell, 5 Wall., 290; Board of Public Works vs. Columbia College, 17 Wall., 251; Gilpin vs. Page, 18 Wall., 320; Thompson vs. Whitman, 18 Wall., 447; Knowles vs. Gas Light Co., 21 Wall., 453; Maxwell vs. Stewart, 22 Wall., 77; Wilson vs. Bank, 6 Leigh, 570. We are not to be understood to admit that the immunity against collateral attack which the judgment sued upon enjoys in the second jurisdiction, includes exemption from assault where, although jurisdiction of the person has been obtained, there has been fraud upon the person against whom the judgment was rendered, in the circumstances of taking the same or the entry upon trial, and for which collateral relief could have been granted in the first jurisdiction; [26] Rogers vs. Gwin, 21 Iowa, 59; Pearce vs. Olny, 20 Conn., 544; Dobson vs. Peace, 1 Duer, 144, S. C, 12 N. Y., 165; Freeman on Judgments, Secs. 492, 576; Black on Judgments, Secs. 373, 916; or that there may not be other cases, not involving a consideration of the merits of the controversy, in which such immunity does not exist.

It is also true, and reasonably so, that where the party sued undertakes to assail by plea the jurisdiction over him of the court of the sister state in which the judgment sued on was obtained, the plea must negative by certain and positive averment every fact upon which such jurisdiction can be legally predicated. If by any reasonable intendment the facts alleged in the plea can exist, and the court rendering the judgment sued on still have had jurisdiction, the plea is bad. Black on Judgments, Sec. 898; Freeman on Judgments (3rded.), Sec. 455 (4th ed.), Sec. 461; Shumway vs. Stillman, 4 Cowen, 292; Starbuck vs. Murray, 5 Wend., 148; Smith vs. Rhoades, 1 Day, 168; Moulin vs. Trenton Mutual Life & Fire Ins. Co., 24 N. J. (Law), 222; Latterett vs. Cook, 1 Iowa, 1; Struble vs. Malone, 3 Iowa, 586; Welch vs. Sykes, 3 Gilman, 197; Puckett vs. Pope, 3 Ala., 552; Barkman vs. Hopkins, 11 Ark., 157, 168; Williams vs. Renwick, 52 Ark., 160; Price vs. Ward, 25 N. J. (Law), 225; Long vs. Long, 1 Hill, 597.

The test of these principles is to be applied to the pleadings before us; but before doing so, the observations to be found in the next succeeding paragraph are necessary.

[27] It is true that when the demurrer to the first set of pleas was put in, the second count of the declaration had not been filed. This count was filed October 28, 1886, or two days after such demurrer, but when the demurrer was heard, November 5, 1886, seven days had passed since the filing of the second count, and consequently under Section 98, page 834, McClellan’s Digest, the pleas referred to stood as pleaded to the new count, and the demurrer was applicable to them in their relation to the new count. The statutory provision referred to is, that when any amendment of any pleading is allowed, the opposite party shall be bound to plead to the amended pleading within two days after the amendment, unless otherwise ordered by the court; and in case the amended pleading has been pleaded to before amendment, and is not pleaded to de now within two days after amendment, or within such other time as the court may allow, the pleadings originally pleaded thereto shall stand and be considered as pleaded in answer to the amended pleadings. The new count was an amendment of the declaration, and there was no special order as to pleading to it.

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

Sammis v. James, 31 Fla. 10 (Fla. 1893).

31 Fla. 10 (Sammis v. James) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Burshan v. NATIONAL UNION FIRE INS. COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, PA.
805 So. 2d 835 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2001)
Michael Anthony Jewelers, Inc. v. Toan, Inc.
46 Fla. Supp. 2d 183 (Florida Circuit Courts, 1991)
Mackle v. Mackle
389 So. 2d 1081 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1980)
Rivera v. Taylor
336 N.E.2d 481 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1975)
Markham v. Nisbet
60 So. 2d 393 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1952)
United Mercantile Agencies v. Bissonnette
19 So. 2d 466 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1944)
Fla. Nat'l. Bank of Jacksonville v. Gardner
19 So. 2d 5 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1944)
Inman v. Davis
169 So. 741 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1936)
First National Bank of Cresson, Pa. v. Brown
162 So. 142 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1935)
Smith v. Hunter
155 So. 805 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1934)
Carroll v. Gore
143 So. 633 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1932)
Johnson v. City of Sebring
140 So. 672 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1932)
White v. Crandall
143 So. 871 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1931)
Reading Co. v. Koons
271 U.S. 58 (Supreme Court, 1926)
Genslinger v. New Illinois Athletic Club
229 Ill. App. 428 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1923)
Sewell v. Huffstetler
93 So. 162 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1922)
Hamilton v. Diefenderfer
131 P. 37 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1913)
Torrey v. Bruner
60 Fla. 365 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1910)
J. P. Williams Co. v. Pensacola, St. Andrews & Gulf Steamship Co.
57 Fla. 237 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1909)