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Groover, Stubbs & Co. vs. Inman, administratrix, et al., administrators

Supreme Court of Georgia1878-01
60 Ga. 406

Summary

Holding. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. The administrators of Jeremiah Inman held a valid judgment against Daniel I. Jones that entitled them to the disputed funds in priority over Groover, Stubbs & Co.'s equitable mortgage claim.

Groover, Stubbs & Co. and the administrators of Jeremiah Inman's estate both claimed rights to funds from the sale of property belonging to Daniel I. Jones's estate. Groover, Stubbs & Co. based their claim on an equitable mortgage executed by Jones during his lifetime, while Inman's administrators relied on a judgment against Jones obtained in Burke Superior Court in November 1868—which predated Groover, Stubbs & Co.'s mortgage. The trial court awarded the funds to Inman's administrators based on the validity of their judgment.

Groover, Stubbs & Co. appealed, challenging whether a valid legal judgment had actually been rendered against Jones and arguing the judgment lacked proper recording in Lowndes County as required by an 1874 statute. The court rejected these objections, finding that although the judgment's form was irregular under later court rules, it was not void. Since the judgment was awarded before the 1874 act took effect, the statute did not affect the parties' rights. The court also found Groover, Stubbs & Co.'s broad exception regarding the decree's conformity to law and evidence insufficient without specific identification of legal violations.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Validity and effect of a judgment rendered in irregular form before adoption of prescriptive rules
  • Priority between a pre-existing judgment lien and an equitable mortgage
  • Recording requirements for judgments and their application to judgments antedating the recording statute

Procedural posture

Groover, Stubbs & Co. appealed the trial court's decree marshaling the assets of Jones's estate in favor of Inman's administrators, presenting exceptions and a bill of exceptions.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

Warner, Chief Justice.

This case came before the court below upon the question as to whether Groover, Stubbs & Co., or whether the administrators of Jeremiah Inman, deceased, were entitled to the money arising from the sale of the property of Daniel I. Jones, deceased, (which had been sold by consent) on a bill filed to marshal the assets of Jones’ estate. The question was submitted to the court for decision, without the intervention of a jury. After hearing the evidence, the court decreed that the administrators of J. Inman had a valid judgment against Daniel I. Jones, deceased, and ordered the money to be paid to that judgment, to the exclusion of the claim of Groover, Stubbs & Co., to which decision and judgment Groover, Stubbs & Co. excepted. Groover, Stubbs & Co. claimed the money under an ^pq-uitable mortgage executed to them by Daniel I. Jones in his lifetime. The administrators of J. Inman claimed the money on a judgment obtained in Burke superior court against Daniel I. Jones, in November 1868, which was of older date than Groover, Stubbs & Co.’s mortgage. The administrators of Inman read in evidence an exemplification of the record of the suit, judgment, and execution, from Burke superior court over the objections of Groover, Stubbs & Co., from which it appears that suit was instituted in that county by Jeremiah Inman in his lifetime against Daniel I-Jones, of the county of Lowndes, and M. D. Jones of the said county of Burke, on a joint and several promissory note made by them for the sum of $4,145.00. There does not appear in the record to have been any issuable defense filed on oath to said suit. The presiding judge of the court awarded as follows: “ I award to the plaintiff the sum of forty-one hundred and forty-five dollars principal debt, and interest thereon from the fourth day of March, A. D. eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, and costs of suit.

(Signed) Wm. Gibson, Judge.”

Whereupon the plaintiff’s attorney entered up a judgment in favor of the plaintiff against the defendants for the sum awarded by the judge, in the same form and manner as was usual in entering up a judgment on the verdict of a jury, which judgment, was dated 19th of November, 1868.

The objections to the decree insisted on here were, that no legal judgment had been rendered in Burke superior court against Daniel I. Jones which would entitle it to claim the money in dispute, and because it had not been recorded in the county of Lowndes as required by the act of 1874. The most that can be said against the judgment is that it was irregular in view of the 38th rule of the court, but not void. The judgment, however, was rendered prior to the adoption of the rule prescribing the form of a judgment to be rendered in cases where no issuable defense was filed on oath, as in obedience to the feonstitution of 1868. This form is merely directory, and it would not follow that because a judgment was awarded by the court in a different form, that it would be void. The superior court of Burke county was a court of general jurisdiction, and William Gibson was a judge thereof, of which fact the other courts in the state are bound to take judicial notice, and when the record shows that as such judge he awarded to the plaintiff the sum of money specified therein, (there being no issuable defense to the suit filed on oath), the legal effect of it was a judgment for that amount in favor of the plaintiff against the defendants in that suit, and because the plaintiff’s attorney entered up a judgment on the record upon that judgment of the court, as upon the verdict of a jury out of abundant caution, did not make the judgment any the worse on that account. The objection to the judgment is more a matter of form than of substance.

The judgment having been awarded by the court before the passage of the act of 1874, and Groover, Stubbs & Co.’s mortgage bearing date prior thei’eto, the rights of the parties were not affected by it.

Inasmuch as the judgment which ‘ created the lien on the fund was in evidence before the court, the alleged alteration of the name in the fi.fa., became immaterial.

The third exception to the decree is, that it is contrary to law and the evidence, but does not state wherein it is contrary to law or evidence. This is not a motion for a new trial on the ground that the decree is contrary to law and evidence, but the case is brought here on a bill of exceptions alone, and it was incumbent on the plaintiffs in error to have distinctly specified in their bill of exceptions the particular points of law which the decree violated, in order to obtain a reversal thereof in this court. See rule eighth of the supreme court.

Let the judgment of the court below be affirmed.