Wise v. Loring

54 Mo. App. 258, 1893 Mo. App. LEXIS 174
Missouri Court of Appeals·Decided May 9, 1893·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinions

Bond, J.

— This suit was begun by the assignee of a justice’s judgment rendered against Wm. H. Cozens during his life, he having died at the time of suit. The action now is brought against his administrator, appellant.

The case was tried by the court without a jury. No declarations of law were asked or given, and judgment was rendered against the administrator of W. H. -Cozens, deceased, who appealed therefrom.

The transcript introduced in evidence by appellant ■was as follows:

[260] “Number 208, January Issues, 1873.
“L. M. Xennett, Plaintiff, v. Wm. H. Cozens, Defendant.
Before jugtiee John C. H. Cunningham.
“Landlord’s summons for $207 issued January 30, 1873, to Constable Kinsella, returnable February 5, 1873; returned executed. On tbe return day tbe plaintiff appeared; tbe defendant being called came not but made default. Tbe justice, after bearing tbe- evidence on tbe part of tbe plaintiff, adjudged tbat tbe plaintiff bave judgment against tbe defendant for $200 witb costs of suit and restitution of premises. Fifa issued Eebruaiy 6, 1873, to Constable Kinsella.
Debt........................................................$200 00
Justice Cunningham.......................................... 350 00
Constable Kinsella.......................................... 175 00
This transcript paid by plaintiffs attorney Wise................. 100 00
“State oe Missouri, 1 “City of St. Louis. ss.
“I, Patrick Kane, a justice of tbe peace witbin and for tbe city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, and successor to Justice John C. H. Cunningbam, do certify tbe foregoing to be a full, true and complete transcript of tbe entries and proceedings in tbe case of L. M. Kennett v. W. H. Cozens, as tbe same are of record on tbe docket of Justice Cunningbam.
“Given under my band this third day of September, 1891, Patrick Kane,
“Justice of tbe peace, fifth district, city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, and successor to Justice J. O. H. Cunningbam.”

There was evidence tending to show tbat the judgment recited in tbe above transcript was transferred to tbe respondent.

Tbe appellant assigns for error on this appeal: First. Tbat tbe petition is defective in not alleging [261] that the judgment sued on was unpaid. Second. That the judgment sued on is void. Third. That the assignments of the judgment whereunder respondent claims are not in accord with section 6043 of the Revised Statutes, 1889.

The first assignment as to the failure of the petition to allege that the judgment is unpaid, is frivolous. The petition, after stating the name of the court rendering the judgment, the names of the parties, the date and amount of the judgment and its successive assignments to the respondent, and the appointment of the appellant as administrator of the defendant in said judgment,concludes as follows, to-wit: “That said judgment shall remain valid and in full force. Therefore plaintiff prays judgment against said defendant aforesaid, administrator, for said sum of $200,interest and costs.” This averment is clearly equivalent to an allegation that the judgment was unpaid.

Nor is there any merit in appellant’s third assignment, that the transfers to the respondent should have been excluded, because not made in writing and attached to the judgment as prescribed in section 6043 of the Revised Statutes, 1889. This identical section was construed in Burgess v. Cave, 52 Mo. 43, 44, where it was said: “The statutory mode of assigning judgments is cumulative and does not prevent a party from making an equitable assignment in any other lawful way.”

The second assignment of error made by the appellant, to-wit, that the judgment sued on is void, presents the question as to the sufficiency of the transcript of the justice’s docket offered in evidence, and the rules governing such transcripts when made the basis of a new suit grounded on a former judgment between the parties.

[262] It is the law of this state that in a suit upon a foreign judgment the defendant may show, notwithstanding the recitals therein of jurisdiction, that he was not. a party to such judgment, or that the court had no. jurisdiction of the subject-matter. Bradley v. Welch, 100 Mo. 258, 268; Eager v. Stover, 59 Mo. 88, 89.

A domestic judgment of a court of general jurisdiction cannot be collaterally impeached by the parties to it merely because the record is silent as to the acquisition of jurisdiction. In such cases, unless the record-affirmatively shows a want of jurisdiction, it will presumed. Huxley v. Harrold, 62 Mo. 516, 523; Cloud v. Inhabitants of Pierce City, 86 Mo. 366, 367; McClanahan v. West, 100 Mo. 309, 320. A domestic judgment of an inferior court (justice of the peace) is not obnoxious to collateral attack, when the facts necessary to confer jurisdiction appear affirmatively upon the face of the proceedings in question. Karnes v. Alexander, 92 Mo. 660, 671; Jeffries v. Wright, 51 Mo. 215, 221; Fulkerson v. Davenport, 70 Mo. 541; Baker v. Baker, 70 Mo. 136; Freeman on Judgments, sec. 524.

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

Wise v. Loring, 54 Mo. App. 258, 1893 Mo. App. LEXIS 174 (Mo. Ct. App. 1893).

54 Mo. App. 258 (Wise v. Loring) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Dameron v. Harris
219 S.W. 954 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1920)
School District No. 58 v. Chappel
135 S.W. 75 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1911)
Hammond v. Darlington
84 S.W. 446 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1904)
State ex rel. Castleman v. Cunningham
79 S.W. 1017 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1904)
McCullough v. Dovey
85 N.W. 893 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1901)
Reed Bros. v. Nicholson
59 S.W. 977 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1900)
Weller Manufacturing Co. v. Eaton
81 Mo. App. 657 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1899)
Nevatt v. Springfield Normal School
79 Mo. App. 198 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1899)
State ex rel. Laidley v. Higgins
71 Mo. App. 180 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1897)
Chemical Bank v. Bulkley
68 Mo. App. 327 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1897)