5 Wend. 63 | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | 1830
By the Court,
The difficulty here is, that it was not shewn that this suit was commenced by the capias issued in October term, 1826. The plaintiff should have shewn that the copias on which the defendant was arrested, was a testatum founded on the previous writ, or an alias or pluries. It does not necessarily follow that this is a continuation of the former suit; and that -is a fact which the plaintiff is bound to shew.
Several authorities have been referred to which shew that the first writ must be returned. In this case the writ was returned ; and though it be conceded that it was returned irregularly, that irregularity could not be taken advantage of in this way ; the question here is, whether a suit was commenced in fact, not whether it was regularly proceeded in j and if any irregularity existed, probably it would be waived by the defendant’s not moving to set aside the proceedings, had any connection been shewn between the writ returned irregularly and that upon which the defendant was brought into court.
Both the necessity of shewing the continuance of the suit commenced by the first process, and the waiver of the irregularity are proved by the case of Beardman v. Rattenbury, 7 Com. Law, 157 ; 5 Barn. & Ald. 452. In that case, to take the case out of the statute, the issuing a testatum special capias within six years was shewn, and its return was non est inventus j and secondly, an alias testatum issued subsequently to the six years; one term intervened without shewing any writ returnable. The court seemed to concede that it was
The judge decided correctly, and a new trial must be denied.