State Ex Rel. Ensley v. Superior Court Etc.

159 N.E.2d 115, 239 Ind. 583, 1959 Ind. LEXIS 197
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedJune 16, 1959
Docket29,764
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 159 N.E.2d 115 (State Ex Rel. Ensley v. Superior Court Etc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Ensley v. Superior Court Etc., 159 N.E.2d 115, 239 Ind. 583, 1959 Ind. LEXIS 197 (Ind. 1959).

Opinion

Arterburn, J.

This is an original action asking for a writ of mandate. We denied the alternative writ.

This case has its origin in a condemnation suit filed on April 14, 1958 in the Superior Court of Marion County, Room No. 1, Cause No. C-33491. The State of Indiana in that action condemned for highway purposes a right of way in a 25 foot wide strip of land containing approximately seven-tenths (7/10) of an acre. The defendants therein were the relators, Jack R. Ensley and Beni Ensley, alleged owners of the land, the College Life Insurance Company, an alleged mortgagee, and Howard W. Pieber, alleged holder of a first refusal option agreement covering the condemned land and land adjoining the same. All parties were served with proper notice of the filing of the condemnation action. In due course appraisers were appointed by the court and their assessment of damages was made and filed. On May 28, 1958 both the State and the relators, Ensley and Ensley, filed exceptions to the appraisers’ report.

On September 30, 1958—over four months after the ten-day period had expired within which exceptions to the appraisers’ report could be filed under the statute—the relators filed a paper entitled “Amended exceptions to appraisers’ report”. In the “amended ex *587 ceptions” it was alleged that Howard W. Fieber, as holder of an option on said real estate, had no right or interest therein and his option contract was no longer in effect. Fieber was given no notice of the filing of the “amended exceptions” contesting his title and interest in said property. On the same day the “amended exceptions” were filed, the Superior Court entered a default judgment holding that the interest of Fieber was invalid and void. On October 14, upon motion filed by Fieber and served upon the relators, Ensley and Ensley, the Superior Court expunged the default judgment. The relators, Ensley and Ensley, thereafter sought a reinstatement of the alleged default judgment, which was denied by the court. As part of the relief in this original action, the relators ask that the trial court be directed to set aside and expunge the order which set aside and expunged the default judgment holding that Fieber had no interest in the real estate and his option was void.

The relators urge that “The Court did not have the power or authority to set aside the default judgment obtained by Relators against Howard W. Fieber on September 30, 1958, the Court acted without its jurisdiction in so doing,”. The relators claim that Howard W. Fieber was duly served with notice originally in the condemnation proceedings and that he is bound by all the adjudications that take place therein. As between the plaintiff and the State in the condemnation action on the one hand and Fieber, as a defendant therein, that is true. Nevertheless, it does not follow in a cross-action or claim between co-defendants (in the same suit) in which the plaintiff has no interest, that the notice given by the plaintiff would bind a co-defendant as to a claim by another co- *588 defendant against him, without notice of such claim which was not set up in the original complaint.

The respondent here claims that the default judgment entered against Fieber is a nullity and absolutely void because it lacks any notice to him or service of process upon him by the relators, Ensley and Ensley, and there are authorities to support this viewpoint.

The situation here is analogous to that where a suit is brought by a principal against two or more defendants upon a contract where a question of surety-ship arises between them. Although the statute permits the issue between the co-defendants to be determined in the same action, we have held that that issue does not concern the principal and that it is purely a contest between the defendants. Burns’ 1946 Repl. §3-2503; Smith v. The Muncie National Bank (1867), 29 Ind. 158; Callahan v. Mitchell (1868), 29 Ind. 418; Beck v. O’Dell (1923), 193 Ind. 386, 140 N. E. 527.

In Fletcher v. Holmes (1865), 25 Ind. 458, 465, 466, we said:

“. . . In those courts, when a defendant sought relief against a co-defendant, as to matters not apparent upon the face of the original bill, he must file his cross-bill, alleging therein the matters upon which he relied for relief, making defendants thereto of such co-defendants and others as was proper, and process was necessary to bring them in. The filing of the cross-bill was regarded in some sense as the commencement of a new suit.”

In Joyce et al. v. Whitney et al. (1877), 57 Ind. 550, 557, we said in a similar case:

“ . . . But it will not do to say, that, on a summons issued and served in an action on the contract, upon the filing of a complaint by one of the defendants as surety in such contract, the other defendants can at once be defaulted as to such complaint, without any notice whatever thereof. *589 This point was settled, by this Court, in the case of Fletcher v. Holmes, 25 Ind. 458. And, upon the point now under consideration, the doctrine of the case cited, it seems to us, ought never to have been doubted nor questioned by this court, in any case, where the matter set up in the cross-complaint was not apparent in the original complaint.” (Our italics)

The validity of the option contract held by Fieber was not in issue under the original complaint filed. It was first attempted to be put in issue by the filing of “amended exceptions” to the appraisers’ report. It was an issue solely between the Ensleys and Fieber. He had no notice of this new issue raised in effect by an attempted cross-action between two co-defendants.

The principles enumerated in the early cases cited above have since been followed by this court, holding that a judgment taken by default is void, if it is an attempted adjudication of a claim outside the issues raised by the complaint and one between co-defendants where there was no service of process nor an appearance to the cross-complaint. Voss v. Lewis (1890), 126 Ind. 155, 25 N. E. 892; Bartmess v. Holliday (1901), 27 Ind. App. 544, 61 N. E. 750; Restatement of the Law, (1942), Judgments, §5, comment g., and §8, comment c.

A further weakness in relators’ position before us is that the record shows that the “amended exceptions”, which first raised the issue as to the validity of Fieber’s option contract with the Ensleys, was not filed within the ten days’ time fixed by the statute for filing exceptions. On the other hand, the original exceptions to the appraisers’ report which were filed within the statutory ten-day period did not question Fieber’s alleged interest. We thus have a claim made by co-defendants Ensleys against Fieber filed beyond the *590 statutory period within which not even exceptions directed to the appraisers’ report could have been filed. Groover v. State (1959), 239 Ind. 271, 156 N. E. 2d 307.

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Bluebook (online)
159 N.E.2d 115, 239 Ind. 583, 1959 Ind. LEXIS 197, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-ensley-v-superior-court-etc-ind-1959.