Sullivan v. Eason

8 Tenn. App. 429, 1928 Tenn. App. LEXIS 156
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJuly 31, 1928
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 8 Tenn. App. 429 (Sullivan v. Eason) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sullivan v. Eason, 8 Tenn. App. 429, 1928 Tenn. App. LEXIS 156 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1928).

Opinion

FAW, P. J.

This case is before the court on a motion of J. F. Johnson, one of the complainants, and a counter-motion of the Fidelity &■ Deposit Company of Maryland, hereinafter, for the sake of brevity, called the Fidelity Company; of which motions notice has been given to the adversary parties.

On April 16, 1927, a written opinion was handed down and filed by this court in this cause by which it was held and adjudged that there was no error in the decree of the chancery court, and it was directed by this court in said written opinion that a decree be entered here affirming the decree of the chancery court in all respects.

The decree of the chancery court which was thus affirmed contained, among other things, a judgment in favor of J. F. Johnson, one of the complainants, and against the defendant Allen S. Eason and the surety on his appeal bond, Fidelity & Deposit Company of Maryland, for $400,'and a further judgment in favor of the same complainant and against the defendant Allen S. Eason alone for $85.57 and certain specified costs.

With respect to the aforesaid judgment in favor of J. F. Johnson, the decree entered in this court did not follow the decree of the chancery court, but, by inadvertence and clerical error, judgment was entered in favor of J. F. Johnson and against defendant Allen S. Eason and his surety, the Fidelity Company, for only $85.57, with interest.

The motion of J. F. Johnson now made is to correct the aforesaid judgment of this court entered April 16, 1927, so as to make it conform to the written opinion of this court which, as afore-stated, directed that a judgment be entered in favor of complainant J. F. Johnson and against defendant Allen S. Eason and his surety, the Fidelity Company, for $400 (the penalty of the surety bond), and a further judgment against Allen S. Eason in favor of J. F. Johnson for $86.57, and for interest on the amount of the chancery court judgment of $485.57.

Unless the counter-motion of the Fidelity Company (which will be presently stated) is sustainable, the motion of J. F. Johnson must be sustained and the decree corrected accordingly. It is well settled that, where it appears from the written opinion of the appellate court on file in the cause that the decree as entered does not embody the judgment of the court, it may, at a subsequent term, or even after the lapse of several years, be rectified and made to conform to the opinion. Shannon’s Code, sections 4598, 4599, 6334, *431 6335, (Code of 1858, sections 2878, 2879, 4501, 4502); Polk v. Pledge, 5 Heisk., 571; Easley v. Tarkington, 5 Baxt., 592, 594; Elliot v. Cochran, 1 Cold. 388, 395; Crutchfield v. Stewart, 1 Humph., 380.

The Fidelity Company, through its counsel, is resisting the aforesaid motion of J. F. Johnson, and has fifed and presented to the court a motion "to vacate the decree insofar as it renders any judgment against the Fidelity & Deposit Company of Maryland, either in favor of J. C. Johnson or H. G. Johnson, to whom each is given a judgment for $175 against it, as surety on certain appeal bonds.”

The motion of the Fidelity Company must be overruled, for the reason that the Code sections before quoted do not apply to a decree which was given upon the deliberate consideration and judgment of the court, and where the written opinion of the court expressly directs that the part of the decree Which it is sought to correct should be embodied therein, and the court has no power, after the close of the term, to alter or change a decree thus entered, even though the court be of opinion that such former opinion and decree were erroneous. Pettit v. Cooper, 9 Lea, 21, 24; Russell v. Colyar, 4 Heisk., 154; Kinzer v. Helm, 4 Heisk., 672, 674; Burns v. Edgefield, 3 Tenn. Chy., 137, 140; Elliot v. Cochran, supra, pp. 393, 395; Lamb v. Sneed, 4 Baxt., 349, 351; Hill v. Walker, 7 Baxt., 310, 312.

However, in the instant case we do not think there was error in our former opinion, but that the complainants J. F. Johnson, J. C. Johnson and H. G. Johnson, respectively, were entitled to judgments against the Fidelity Company as the surety of Allen S. Eason on certain appeal bonds executed in the progress of the cause. Each of the three Johnsons above named obtained) a judgment against Allen S. Eason before a Justice of the Peace of Davidson county about the same time, and Eason appealed from each of said judgments to the circuit court of Davidson county and the Fidelity Company become surety on Eason’s appeal bond in each of said cases. In the circuit court .an order was entered under the style of the three eases, which order was as follows:

"By agreement of the parties these three causes, heretofore agreed to be heard together are to be transferred to part II Chancery Court, Davidson county, Tenn., and to be there consolidated with the casé of R. P. Sullivan against said Allen S. Eason, and to be heard and determined with said cause.
"It is further stipulated and ordered that the clerk of this court shall transmit to the Clerk and Master of said chancery court all the papers in this cause together with a certified copy of this order. It is further ordered and decreed that all the costs accruing in these three cases shall abide the decision of the Chancellor, and that these causes shall be stricken from *432 the circuit court docket. This transfer is sanctioned by section 6074, Shannon’s Code; and notes thereto.”

The chancery court rendered judgments in favor of the three Johnsons, respectively, and against Allen S. Bason and the Fidelity Company as his surety on said appeal bonds, and Bason brought the case to this court by writ of error. In the written opinion of this court filed April 16, 1927, as aforestated, it is Said that “the Fidelity & Deposit Company of Maryland did not join in the application for the writ of error, but, the writ having been sued out by Eason, the principal, the advantage thereby obtained by him, if any, will enure to the benefit of his surety on the bonds executed jn the progress of the cause, without the joinder of the surety in the application for the writ of error.”

And, in support of the statement just quoted, vre cited “cases collated in Note 5 under sec. 4891, Shannon’s New Code,” wherein it is held that an appeal by the principal takes up the case as to sureties on prosecution bonds or other bonds executed in the progress of the cause without their joinder in the appeal, and judgment may be rendered against them, and they wall be entitled to the benefit of any -advantage obtained by their principal by his appeal.

In the case of intermediate, successive and final appeals, the sureties on the several appeal bonds, and other bonds executed in the progress of the cause, continue in court by their respective bonds, which bonds are, by statute, made a part of the record; and the sureties are liable thereon for such judgment as the court belowr should have rendered. Such is the effect of the statutes embodied in sections 4837, 4893, 4801, 4935, 4937 and 6332, Shannon’s Code. See cases cited in note to sec. 4893, Shannon’s New Code.

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