115 Ga. 305 | Ga. | 1902
The New Home Sewing Machine Company brought-a rule against the sheriff of Tatnall county, to cause that officer, who had in his hands a named sum of money arising from the sale of certain property of W. J. Williams, to pay over the same on an execution issued on a judgment which movant had obtained against Williams on June 3, 1898. Beasley, guardian, was made a party, and claimed that this fund should be applied to a judgment against Williams, held by her as plaintiff, which was rendered September 3,1897. It was made to appear that executions had been duly issued upon these judgments, which executions had been entered on the general execution docket in the office of the clerk of the superior court of Tatnall county. J. J. Easterlin was made a party to the rule, and he claimed the fund on two judgments rendered in a justice’s court of that county against Williams, each of which was rendered on February 5,1892. Upon each of these judgments an execution had been issued on February 18, 1892, and entered “ on the execution docket and the general execution docket of the clerk of the superior court” of Tatnall county on July 1, 1898.
The judgment complained of was error. Prior to the act approved October 15, 1885, codified in the Civil Code, § 3761, the rule of law in force, in relation to the dormancy of judgments for want of execution, was simply that no judgment should be enforced after the expiration of seven years from the time of its rendition, when no execution had been issued upon it. But this was changed by the act
In the case of Kellogg v. Buckler, 17 Ga, 187, it was ruled that a judgment does not become dormant if there is an execution issued from it within two years from its date, and entries by the sheriff on the execution follow one another at intervals of less than seven years. In delivering the opinion in that case Benning, J., cited the act of 1822, commonly called the dormant-judgment act. It was-provided in the 1st section of that act that a judgment should become dormant when the execution had issued upon it, if no return was made on the execution by the proper officer within seven years-from the date of the judgment. Cobb’s Dig. 498. This provision,, however, was changed by the Code of 1863, and that part of the-act which required a return to be made on the execution within seven years from the date of the judgment was omitted, and has not since-been incorporated in our law. In the case of Tanner v. Hollingsworth, 41 Ga. 133, it was ruled that a judgment on which an execution issued within seven years from its date is not dormant if there be a proper entry upon the fi. fa. within seven years from itsr
Judgment reversed.