253 Pa. 532 | Pa. | 1916
Opinion by
On September 19, 1905, the First National Bank of Gettysburg entered a judgment in the Court of Common Pleas of Adams' County for the sum of $5,000 against Emma C. Johns and S. L. Johns. On February 7,1907, the Home Building and Loan Association of Hanover entered a judgment in the same court against Emma C. Johns for the sum of $2,750. On September 18,1909, the bank, through its attorney, left a praecipe with the prothonotary of the county to revive its said judgment. That officer prepared a writ of scire facias, signed, sealed, filed and docketed it, but failed to deliver it to the sheriff. It never left the prothonotary’s office. On September 28, 1910, the bank, through its attorney, gave a praecipe to the prothonotary for a so-called alias scire facias to revive the said judgment. This was placed in the sheriff’s hands on October 3, 1910, and the defendants appeared and confessed judgment in favor of the plaintiff for the sum of $5,000. Subsequently they made an assignment for the benefit of creditors, and, their assignee having filed his account, an auditor was appointed to make distribution of the funds in his hands, among which were the proceeds of the sale of the real estate of the assignors. In making distribution, the auditor held that the judgment of the First National Bank of Gettysburg had been duly revived, and awarded it, as against the
To continue the lien of a judgment beyond five years from the date of its entry it must be revived during that period by agreement or by the “suing out” or “issuing” of a writ of scire facias. “All judgments entered in any court of record......shall continue a lien on the real estate of the defendant for the term of five years from the day of entry or revival thereof; and no judgment shall continue a lien on such real estate for a longer period than five years from the day on which such judgment may be entered or revived, unless revived, within that period, by agreement......or a writ of scire facias to revive the same be sued out within said period......; nor shall the revival of such judgment by......the issuing of a scire facias......have the effect of continuing such lien for a longer period than five years from the day on which it may be entered or revived, or such scire facias may have issued”: Act of June 1,1887, P. L. 289.
In the case under consideration there was no amicable
The writ of scire facias, issued at the instance of the appellant on September 28, 1910, — more than five years after the entry of its judgment — was unavailing to continue the priority of its lien over that of the judgment held by the appellee, and this is all that need be said of it. Decree affirmed and appeal dismissed at appellant’s costs.