Smith v. White

60 S.E. 404, 63 W. Va. 472, 1908 W. Va. LEXIS 121
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 4, 1908
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 60 S.E. 404 (Smith v. White) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. White, 60 S.E. 404, 63 W. Va. 472, 1908 W. Va. LEXIS 121 (W. Va. 1908).

Opinion

Beannon, Judge:

D. A. Smith brought an action against H. E. White before a justice of Tucker county. The summons commanded the [473]*473defendant to answer in a civil action for money “due for damages for a wrong in which the plaintiff will demand judgment for $300 with interest and costs according to law.” The plaintiff having recovered before the justice the case went by appeal to the circuit court, where the plaintiff recovered verdict and judgment, and the 'defendant appeals the case here.

The plaintiff says that we cannot look into the evidence, as the bill of exceptions does not identify it. We think it does incorporate the evidence and identify it, taking the beginning and conclusion of the bill.

White as sergeant of the town of Davis had an execution in his hands in favor of The Beaver Creek Mercantile'Co. against John C. Smith, which he levied on a horse and wagon as the property of John C. Smith, and D. A. Smith, wife of John C. Smith, claiming the property, brought this action against White to recover damages for the unlawful levy of the execution upon her property and for its detention, and recovered the judgment appealed from to this Court.

The exclusion of Plea 2 is a ground of error. It is doubtful whether it is a part of the record. The order of the court rejecting it does not order it to be a part of the record, and according to Sweeny v. Baker, 13 W. Va. 158, it cannot be so considered; but as that order numbers the paper and calls it a plea, we think that under the liberal principles stated in Hughes v. Frum, 41 W. Va. 445, and Kay v. Glade Creek, 47 Id. 467, we can consider that plea. ' The rejection of that plea is plainly not error. First, because the plea of not guilty covers a defense of the case, and this special plea was useless. Second, because that plea said that the horse and wagon were taken and retained because White Relieved them to be the property of John C. Smith by virtue of an execution against his property. That is to say, the pleas’ only justification is that White believed the property to be that of John C. Smith. No matter what White believed or thoght, his plea must aver that the property was, in fact, the property of John C. Smith.

The defendant moved to quash the summons for variance between it and the bill of particulars. ' Could that effect the summons? The real objection is, that the summons claims for a wrong, a single one, whereas the bill claims for detention of [474]*474the horse for two periods, and for the wagon two periods. It seems that they were levied upon, then given up, then levied upon again. The levy, if not authorized, was a wrong, and several wrongs could be claimed from the two levies and detentions, as several torts may be sued for in one action. And by appealing probably this is waived, it being a general appearance. C. & O. Ry. Co. v. Wright, 50 W. Va. 653.

When the property involved was levied upon a contest arose as to its liability between the execution creditor, The Beaver Creek Mercantile Co., and Mrs. D. A. Smith and a litigation took place under chapter 50, section 151, Code, for the trial of the right of property involving the liability of the horse and wagon to the execution, which went by appeal from the justice’s court to the circuit court, resulting in a decision in favor of Mrs. Smith declaring said chattels not so liable. Upon the trial of the action now before us between Mrs. Smith and White, the court admitted in evidence, over objection by White, the record of that former trial between The Beaver Creek Company and Mrs. Smith. This is obvious error. So long ago as 1808, the Virginia Court said in Carter v. Washington, 2 Hen. & Munf. 345, “There is no general principle of law that seems better settled than that no one shall be injured or affected by the event of any suit of which he was not a party; the reasons of which are laid down in all the books, and are too obvious to need repeating here.” Authorities are found in 6 Ency. Digest, 283. On page 285 we find this: “The reason is obvious. He has no power to cross-examine witnesses, or adducing evidence in maintenance of his rights; in short, he is deprived of all means provided by law for ascertaining the truth, and consequently it would be repugnant to the first principles of justice, that he should be bound by the result of an inquiry to which he is altogether a stranger. Citing Payne v. Coles, 1 Munf. 373; Turpin v. Thomas, 3 Hen. & Munf. 139.” “Persons who are not parties toa suit and not bound by the decrees entered therein cannot be prejudiced thereby. ” Long v. Willis, 50 W. Va. 341. White was not a party to that trial of property suit in any sense. He was merely a stake holder so to speak. Then is he in any sense a privy in estate, and thus bound by its finding? Privy in estate to whom? Surely not to Mrs. Smith, since he was claiming against her under -the execu[475]*475tion. He derived no estate from her. Her husband, John 0. Smith, was a party, it is true, but White is not a privy in estate with him. As an individual White had no interest in that litigation, whereas this present suit involves his right, his individual right. White could make no defense to that suit. He could produce no evidence, employ no counsel, take no appeal. What title did he get from John 0. Smith? A privy in estate is one who derives from another title to property. He comes in by succession to property by contract or law. It is identity of title. The privy in estate takes property under another. To make one person a privy in estate to another, that other must be predecessor in respect to the property in question from whom the privy derives his right or title, a mutual or successive relationship. White in his own right derived nothing from John 0. Smith, andas an officer under the execution claimed against Smith, claimed in invitwm, that is, against Smith’s will, in hostility to him; or at least White took nothing by contract or by law in the way of estate from John C. Smith. 23 Am. & Eng. Ency. L. (2 ed. ) 101; 6 Words and Phrases, 5609. Another reason why White is not privy in estate with John 0. Smith is, that this judgment was rendered after the right of White as mere officer (he had none other) had accrued, and it is settled law that a privy in estate is not bound by a judgment against him from whom he derives his estate after he derives it. Maxwell v. Leeson, 50 W. Va. 362; Orthwein v. Thomas, 127 Ill. 555. A few cases coming near the exact point here involved have been found. One is Armstrong v. Harvey, 110. St. 527, wherein it was held, under a statute similar to ours concerning trial of right of property, that a judgment and finding of a justice in favor of the claimant, and his order for its restoration to the claimant, made in a trial of the right of property levied in execution, is not conclusive of the rights of said property in said claimant in a subsequent action for its wrongful caption and conversion, brought by the claimant against the plaintiff in the execution and the constable who, in disregard of such order, had sold the property on execution. The court said that the constable would not be prevented by the judgment from contesting the title of the claimant. In Patterson v. State, 91 Ala. 58, .an officer in arresting a man for disorderly conduct struck him with his [476]*476baton and was convicted of assault and battery.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
60 S.E. 404, 63 W. Va. 472, 1908 W. Va. LEXIS 121, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-white-wva-1908.