Manghue v. Reaney

• Decision Date: 07 November 1923
• Citation: Manghue v. Reaney, 99 Conn. 662, 122 A. 566 (Conn. 1923)
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: MANGHUE v. REANEY.

122 A. 566

99 Conn. 662

MANGHUE v. REANEY.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.

November 7, 1923

Appeal from Court of Common Pleas, Litchfield County; James P Woodruff, Judge.

Action by Thomas F. Manghue against John R. Reaney to recover damages for default of an officer in serving mesne process brought before a justice of the peace for the county of Litchfield, where a demurrer to the complaint was overruled and upon the defendant neglecting and refusing to plead over the justice rendered judgment for the plaintiff, and the defendant appealed to the court of common pleas for Litchfield county, where the plaintiff filed a motion to erase, which the court denied, and subsequently a demurrer which the court overruled.Upon the trial the plaintiff produced his evidence, and defendant moved for judgment of nonsuit which the court, Woodruff, J., granted, and from the denial of the motion to set aside the judgment of nonsuitthe plaintiff appeals.Error.Judgment set aside, and new trial ordered.

Samuel A. Herman, of Winsted, and Frederick A. Jewell, of New Hartford, for appellant.

Frank B. Munn, of Winsted, for appellee.

Argued before WHEELER, C.J., and BEACH, CURTIS, BURPEE, and KEELER, JJ.

WHEELER, C.J.

This action seeks to recover damages for the default of an officer in the service of means process.The action was brought before a justice of the peace, who overruled a demurrer to the complaint which alleged that the officer attached certain described named property as the property of the defendant and took it into his possession and thereafter returned the writ of execution in the action with his indorsement that he by diligent search was unable to get property to satisfy the writ and that this indorsement was untrue.The case was continued to a later date, when the parties appeared and the defendant neglected and refused to plead over, whereupon the court rendered judgment for the plaintiff and the defendant appealed to the court of common pleas.In that courtthe plaintiff filed a motion to erase, which was denied.Subsequently he filed a demurrer, which was overruled.Thereafter the plaintiff produced his evidence, and on motion of the defendantthe court rendered a judgment of nonsuit and from the denial of his motion to set aside the judgment of nonsuitthe plaintiff has taken his appeal to this court.

The motion to erase was properly denied.The judgment before the justice was duly rendered upon the issues of the case, after the defendant had refused to plead over.It was not a judgment by default.General Statutes, § 5561, expressly allowed an appeal from this judgment.So long as the statute concerning appeals remains unchanged, such an appeal is authorized by Denton v. Danbury,48 Conn. 368, 370, 372.

The nonsuit was granted upon the ground...