86 Iowa 107 | Iowa | 1892
The facts necessary to be noticed are these: On March 26, 1890, the plaintiff, Benson, obtained his judgment against the defendant Haywood, of which facts the defendants, Chapman and Irwin had knowledge", they being engaged as attorneys in that case. At the August- term following a verdict was returned in favor of the defendant Haywood against
“Stobm: Lake, Iowa, August 28, 1890.
“For value received, I hereby assign, transfer, and .-set over to T. H. Chapman and Chas. A. Irwin, all my right, title and interest in and to the judgment this ■day recovered by me in the case of Jonas Haywood v. E. W. Benson for legal fees due from me to them for labor and services performed for me in the above ■entitled case. Jonas Haywood.”
On August 30 judgment was rendered on the verdict against the plaintiff, and in favor of Haywood, ■and on September 3, 1890, executions were issued on •both judgments, and placed in the hands of the defendant James, as sheriff, who refused to offset the one .against the other, and thereupon this action was brought. The right of Chapman and Irwin to an •attorney’s lien is not questioned, nor is the validity of the assignment to them. There is no allegation of fraud or want of consideration, and the evidence shows that the value of their services to Haywood in the case was equal to the amount of the judgment.
We understand the appellants to rest their defense upon the assignment- alone; hence the matter of the-lien need not be further noticed. The question is whether the valid assignment of a judgment deprives the judgment debtor of the right to thereafter have a. judgment in his favor against the assignor rendered in a different action before the assignment set off against judgment assigned. The basis of the right to set off judgments is not different from the right to set off mutual claims of any kind. If these parties had held mutual accounts against each other, and one of them had assigned his account against the other to a third person, and that person sued upon it, the right of the-one sued to set up his account against the assignor, as an offset, would hardly be questioned. In such case the assignee takes the account subject to defenses. There is no distinction between such an assignment, and the assignment of a judgment. It seems to us. entirely clear that Chapman and Irwin took this judgment subject to the plaintiff’s right to offset it with his judgment-, even though at the time they did not know that the judgment in favor of the plaintiff was unpaid. Tiffany v. Stewart, 60 Iowa, 207, supports the view we=
The decree of the district court is aeeirmed.