Leake v. Gallogly
Decision Date | 11 June 1892 |
Citation | 52 N.W. 824,34 Neb. 857 |
Parties | CYRIL A. LEAKE ET AL. v. J. J. GALLOGLY |
Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
ERROR to the district court for Merrick county. Tried below before POST, J.
AFFIRMED.
R. C Glanville, for plaintiffs in error, cited: Cobbey v Wright, 23 Neb. 255; Tootle, Hosea & Co. v Jones, 19 Id., 588; Fox v. Meacham, 6 Id., 535.
J. W. Sparks, contra, cited: Degering v. Flick, 14 Neb. 449; Strine v. Kaufman, 12 Id., 423; Tootle, Hosea & Co. v. Jones, 19 Id., 589.
This action was commenced before H. B. Hatch, a justice of the peace of Merrick county, by J. J. Gallogly against plaintiffs in error, to recover the sum of $ 133.90. Judgment was rendered against the defendants below in their absence. Two days later they filed a motion with the justice, under the provisions of section 1001 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to set the judgment aside, upon the ground that the same was rendered in their absence, which application was overruled; thereupon the defendants prosecuted a petition in error to the district court, where the judgment was affirmed.
It is first contended the justice court acquired no jurisdiction over the persons of the defendants, therefore the judgment was erroneous and should have been reversed by the district court. The transcript of the justice docket does not disclose that any summons was served upon the defendant J. H. Leake, while it appears from the returns of the constable on the summons that the writ was served upon Cyril A. Leake on the day of the entry of the judgment, "by his accepting service to appear at 2 o'clock of said day." J. H. Leake not being summoned and not having appeared in the action prior to the rendition of the judgment, it is obvious the justice acquired no jurisdiction over him. The other defendant was not legally served with process, for the reason, among others, that it was made on the day judgment was entered. A summons in a civil action in a justice court, under section 911 of the Civil Code, must be served at least three days before the time set for trial. The defendants, by appearing before the justice and moving to set aside their defaults, submitted themselves to the jurisdiction of the court, and waived all objections to jurisdiction over their persons. (Crowell v. Galloway, 3 Neb. 215; Warren v. Dick, 17 Neb. 241; Tootle v. Jones, 19 Neb. 588.)
The remaining question to be considered is, Did the justice err in refusing to set the judgment aside? The application was made under section 1001 of the Code, which reads as follows:
The record fails to show that plaintiffs in error have complied with the second condition of the section, by either paying the costs, or offering to confess judgment therefor. This requirement of the statute is mandatory, and unless it is complied with by the party seeking to have the judgment rendered against him in his absence opened up, the justice has no authority to set the default aside.
The amount in controversy is not large, but the principle involved is quite important. The transcript from the justice's docket is as follows:
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