Sanders v. Rives

3 Stew. 109
Supreme Court of Alabama·Decided July 15, 1830·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

By LIPSCOMB, Chief Justice.*

In this cause a great many points have been pressed on the consideration of the Court; some of them were abandoned by the counsel in the concluding argument, and there are some others that we should not find material in the investigation; we shall therefore proceed to examine those wo consider most prominent, and involving the true grounds of the contest between the parties. The judgment was rendered on a scire facias against the plaintiffs in error, as the securities of Walter Otey in a writ of error bond, in a case, where Rives, the present defendant was plaintiff, and Otey and others defendants.

The first objection taken by the appellants, is to the writ -of error bond. It is contended, that it goes beyond what is required by the law, and imposes conditions that had never been contemplated by the obligors. Those conditions, it is urged, are not such as the law imposes, and that such being the case, the bond is void. If it wore true that those conditions are not such as the law imposes, we should then inquire how far a bond or recognizance containing all the conditions that the law requires, with the addition of others not required, is bindingou the parlies to it. In such a case, it would seem, that the bond would be valid, so far as the conditions correspond with the law, and that those which are superadded should be treated assurpius-age. This rule of construction would do ample justice to all parties; and the maxium ulileper inutile non viiiatur, would apply. But in point of fact, the bond under consideration does not go beyond the statute; it is true, that it is much more minute and runs more into detail of the conditions to be performed than was at all necessary, yet minutely as those conditions have been set out, the law substantially requires their performance. The actoflS20, a in securing the rights of the judgment creditor, expresses the object to be effected by the bond without descending to particulars; thus when it provides for the payment of such judgment as the Supreme Court may render, in the term judgment, is included the amount of principal, interest, costs and damages; and the special enumeration of those items does not enlarge the duties required to be performed. The act of assembly is in the following words: “That no judgment of the Circuit Court in this State shall be suspended, unless the party applying for such wr t of [115] error shall execute in the Clerk’s office a bond with suffi-eienl security, to be approved by the Clerk, conditioned for prosecuting the writ of error to effect, and to pay and satisfy the judgment that shall be rendered in the said causo by the Supreme Court.'” It will he seen that the conditions of the bond substantially conform to the act of assembly The plaintiffin error can derive no aid from the case put. by way of illustration. It is asked, with much emphasis, if we are prepared to hold the securities liable, when the judgment of the Court below is reversed, and the proper judgment rendered here? We answer that such is the law of our land; and that the act of assembly noticed above, will admit of no other construction; nor can there be much hardship in requiring the party who resorts to a reversing tribunal for the corrcclion of supposed error, to give security to perform the judgment when reversed and corrected; there can be no hardship in securing to the plaintiff what may be justly due him. This is in strict analogy with the case of securities in a bond for a writ of error coram vobis under our statute. When a defendant wishes to have any clerical misprision corrected, he can do so by this writ, on giving bond and security to satisfy the judgment that may be rendered, and this his securities are bound to do, whether he succeeds inprocuring a correction of the judgment or not. Although the question of liability of securities has never before been presented in this aspect, we are now well satisfied, that when ajudgment is reversed and the proper judgment, rendered against the plaintiff in error, his sccuritcs are not discharged, but held liable for the payment of such judgment.

The next objection is, that the scire facias does not correspond with the record on which it purports to be founded, that it calls for twenty dollars costs in the Circuit Court on the affirmance of thejudgment in that Court, on the writ cf error from the County Court. Thejudgment bad been originally rendered in the County Court, and was taken to the Circuit Court, where it was affirmed with costs; the record did not shew to what the costs amounted; nor indeed could it well do so, as it remained to be taxed by the Clerk. It was a matter to be proved on the trial of the scire facias. The amount is alledged to be twenty dollars, and there can be no doubt but the allegation is supported by the ice bill.

The objection that interest was allowed on the damages given in the Supreme Court, is not fairly presented; it [116] should have been the ground of an application to the Court below; but if it were, we do not believe there is any error in it. Interest, is given by our statute on all judgments from their rendition till paid; the fifteen per cent allowed on the affirmance in the Circuit Court, and the ten per cent in the Supreme Court, become embodied with the principal in the judgment, and interest ran on the aggregate amount till payment.

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Sanders v. Rives, 3 Stew. 109 (Ala. 1830).

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