46 S.E.2d 813 | W. Va. | 1948
Lead Opinion
Lulu A. Swartzwelder and others brought this suit in the Circuit Court of Preston County to enforce a vendor's lien. The defendant, Freeport Coal Company, a corporation, through its president, challenged service of process by a plea in abatement. A demurrer to the plea having been sustained, and defendant not desiring to defend further, *277 the Circuit Court of Preston County entered a decree, which, in addition to incorporating the ruling on the plea, ordered sale of the property, subject to the vendor's lien. From this decree, defendant appeals.
The suit was brought to May rules, 1947, at which the questioned return was made and a bill of complaint filed. At the succeeding rules defendant filed its plea in abatement, duly verified by its president, asserting that the sheriff did not execute the process by delivering a copy thereof to R. Hugh Jarvis, the alleged president of defendant corporation, and that the sheriff's return, stating he had done so, is false. Plaintiff in his demurrer to the plea in abatement, which is based on the theory that the sheriff's return is a verity and cannot be attacked by a plea in abatement, challenges the sufficiency of the plea on the following grounds: (1) It does not show that defendant has a good defense to the suit; (2) it does not affirmatively allege that defendant had no knowledge of the suit or opportunity to defend it; (3) it does not give plaintiff a better writ; and (4) the plea is not properly verified.
In support of the first two grounds, plaintiffs evidently rely upon Nuttallburg Smokeless Fuel Co. v. First National Bankof Harrisville,
Of course, in the instant suit the defendant necessarily had knowledge of its pendency; otherwise it could not have filed the plea in abatement at rules before a decree nisi was entered therein. The instant plea in abatement was filed under Code,
Again we say that this case involves no intervening judgment as in the Nuttallburg case, and the attack on the return, having been timely made by plea in abatement, it is our opinion that under the Williamson and Crouch cases, where resort is had to a plea in abatement, it is unnecessary for defendant to show by such plea that he has a just defense to the suit or action, or that he was without notice of the pendency thereof.
The third ground of attack on the plea that it does not give plaintiff a better writ, and the fourth ground that the plea is not properly verified, are, in our opinion, without *280 substantial merit. We say this because the verification signed by R. Hugh Jarvis, the purported president of defendant, Freeport Coal Company, states that he is the president of such company, and if he is such, as his own affidavit asserts, the plea could not furnish plaintiff with a better writ.
For these reasons the action of the trial court in sustaining the demurrer to defendant's plea in abatement, and entering the decretal judgment against defendant, and decreeing that the property covered by the vendor's lien should be sold is erroneous, and should be reversed and set aside and the cause remanded for a decision of the issue of fact raised by the plea in abatement.
Reversed and remanded.
Dissenting Opinion
I would sustain the decree of the Circuit Court of Preston County, on the sole ground that the plea in abatement, filed by the defendant, failed to state that it had good defense to the suit in which the plea was filed. I do not consider it important, in this case, that the plea failed to negative notice of the suit, for the reason that the filing of the plea in itself, was positive evidence that the defendant had received actual notice thereof, and its president should not have been required to make oath to a plea, the filing of which would have convicted him of a false statement. The requirement that a plea, attacking the verity of the return of service of process, should negative notice becomes important only where there has been a default judgment or decree against one who seeks relief therefrom, and becomes important in such a case, because a decree or judgment of a court must be recognized as having some standing, and can not be set aside except for cause; and want of notice is one of the best of reasons for the setting aside of a judgment or decree, for, without notice, there is a lack of that due process of law guaranteed under our State and Federal Constitutions.
I do not think it can be questioned that prior to the decision of this Court in Nuttallburg Smokeless Fuel Co. v. *281 First National Bank,
Thus the law stood until 1921, when the case ofNuttallburg Smokeless Fuel Co. v. First National Bank, supra, was decided. In that case it was held that upon a proceeding to vacate a judgment, taken by default, in a case where there had been no notice of the pendency of the action in any manner or form, the return of the officer was only prima facie evidence of service, and might be overthrown where there was clear and convincing evidence that no legal service of the process had been made. That was a case where the First National Bank of Harrisville obtained a judgment against the Fuel Company and T. C. Beury, which, as alleged in the bill, was based upon a return of service made by the sheriff of Kanawha County on Thos. C. Beury, President of said Fuel Company, in Kanawha County, where the said Beury resided, whereas, the bill alleged, Beury was not at that time President of said corporation, and judgment was taken without any notice to the Fuel Company, of any character whatever. Judge Lively, who wrote the opinion in that case, discussed at length the origin and application of the verity rule, and it is clear, from the entire discussion of the case, that what the Court intended to do was to relax the verity rule only to the extent necessary to prevent injustice. Near the end of the opinion it is stated: "We have attempted in this opinion to draw a distinction in cases of judgment by default upon no notice either actual, presumptive or constructive; and where there has been notice and a technicality is relied upon, or where the defendant has appeared, and denies service, but has opportunity to *284 defend. In the latter instance we would deny the right to question the return." It is clear, therefore, that what the Court held in that case was that where a defendant, either in law or equity, had notice of the suit or action, and an opportunity to defend, he could not attack the verity of the return, where there had been a judgment or decree. So far as I know, up to this date, that ruling has never been questioned by anyone.
When we consider cases raising this question, coming before this Court since the decision in the Nuttallburg case, we reach the case of Stepp v. The State Road Commission,
In the case of Williamson v. Taylor,
It is upon the two cases, Williamson v. Taylor, supra, andCrouch v. Crouch, supra, that the majority opinion bases the conclusion that this Court has heretofore abandoned the verity rule. On the contrary, in my opinion, every decision of this Court, on the principal question, sustains the *287 verity rule, except as the same is limited by the holding in the Nuttallburg case; and to state that the two cases mentioned above, which bear only upon the question of the assumption of the existence of a place of abode, and which do not, in any way, contradict the actual service, is to fly in the face of obvious facts, too clearly established to merit attempted contradiction. And then, what of the Stepp, Nelson Transfer,Hatfield and Lanham cases, all decided subsequent to the decision in the Williamson case. That, until the decision of the Court in the case at bar, this Court has consistently limited its repudiation of the verity rule to the very narrow limits laid down in the Nuttallburg case, should not be disputed, but if disputed cannot be established.
I do not question the right and power of the majority of this Court to abolish the so-called verity rule in its entirety. I do not think it should be abolished, but the majority of this Court has the right and power to declare the law in this State. But if it is to be abolished it should be done by a direct method, with the reasons therefor, and not by attempts to distinguish cases. Instead of attempts to distinguish, the cases in conflict with the present ruling should be overruled. In my opinion, the verity rule, based as it is on a sound public policy, and upon that respect which should be according to public officials, who take an oath to faithfully perform the duties of their offices, and are presumed to do so, should be upheld, except in cases where to enforce it in all strictness would entail a manifest injustice. I can very well understand how a court would be inclined to permit the strict application of the verity rule to be relaxed in a case such as theNuttallburg case, where the person against whom a judgment had been recovered, had not received notice of the suit, and had a good defense thereto. All agree that the rule has been relaxed to that extent. I see no reason why it should be further relaxed to permit people, who have had notice of a suit or action, and have no defense thereto, to question the solemn act of a public officer, who, has made what is assumed by law to be a correct return of service *288 of a court process. What good purpose do we serve when we permit the filing of a plea impeaching the act of a public officer, when he who files the plea has had actual notice of the existence of the suit, or action, opportunity to defend, and has no defense thereto. We hear much of law's delays, and dilatory pleas are not favored. Shall we now make it possible for defendants, who have no defense to a suit or action, to delay judgment at will.
The verity rule having been so well established in this State, as I have, to a perhaps painful extent, endeavored to show, any relaxation thereof should, in the absence of Legislative action, be entirely within the control of the courts. We should, in my opinion, adhere to the rule, as modified by the Nuttallburg case, and, possibly, as modified by the Williamson v. Taylor, and Crouch v. Crouch cases. Certainly, in every case where a defendant appears in court, prior to judgment, and attacks the return of an officer, he has had notice of a suit or action, and, of course has opportunity to defend — why, then, should he be permitted to delay judgment or decree unless he is willing to state that he has a just defense; and, where judgment has already been entered, why should he not, on the basis of his prayer to have it set aside, be required to state, as a prerequisite to relief, that he has had no notice of the suit, no opportunity to defend, and that he has a just defense. No one can be injured by such a rule, and the danger of the use of pleas in abatement, as they may tend to delay judgment in judicial proceedings, will be obviated.
It must not be forgotten that a court can secure jurisdiction of the person of a defendant only by the service of process in a pending suit or action, and that service must conform to certain methods, which, with us, are prescribed by statute. When a suit or action has been instituted by the filing of a praecipe and the issuance of process, a general appearance therein takes the place of service of process. Even when there has been actual service in some form, a defendant has always been permitted to appear specially to attack the jurisdiction of the court, and under Code,
I do not question the right of the defendant in this suit to file a plea in abatement, within the rules governing the filing of such a plea. Code,
In this case, I would sustain the ruling of the Circuit Court of Preston County, on the sole ground that the defendant's plea in abatement failed to state that the defendant filing the same had a just defense to the suit in which it was filed. *290
Dissenting Opinion
In the main I am in agreement with the dissenting opinion of Judge Fox, but I find no authority in the Reports of this State for the proposition that the truth of an officer's return of service of process may be challenged by plea in abatement, if the defendant alleges he has a just defense to the suit or action.
It is my view, subject to the exceptions hereinafter noted, that in the absence of fraud, collusion or deception on the part of plaintiff, the officer's return of process cannot be controverted by any plea, regardless of the allegations therein contained. The exceptions above referred to are as follows: (1) If the case comes within the narrow exception to the "verity rule" stated in the case of Nuttallburg Smokeless Fuel Co. v.Bank,
The general rules relative to the conclusiveness of an officer's return of service of process are in conflict. Some authorities hold that if the officer's return of service of process is regular on its face, and there is no evidence of fraud, collusion or deception, the return cannot be controverted by the defendant in the same action by plea or otherwise. Other authorities hold that the officer's return of service of process is not conclusive but is only prima facie evidence of proper service. See note 124 Am. St. Rep., page 756et seq., and 42 Am. Jur., Process, Sections 126 and 127.
In our neighboring state of Virginia, the rule that return of service of process by an officer is conclusive has long been accepted and enforced. See Goodall v. Stuart, 2 Hen. M. 105;Smith Rickard v. Triplett Neale, 4 Leigh 590; Preston v.Kindrick (Va.),
In this jurisdiction, the first discussion of this principle that I have been able to find appears in Hinton v. Ballard,
We have a long line of cases commencing with the case ofBowyer v. Knapp Martin,
The next case in which this question was considered isStewart v. Stewart,
The next case in which this Court considered the "verity rule" is Talbott v. Southern Oil Co.,
The law so remained in this State until the opinion of this Court in the Nuttallburg case, wherein this Court defined and approved an exception to the rule as to conclusiveness of an officer's return on service of process in the following language: "Upon a proceeding to vacate a judgment taken by default in a case in which the defendant had no notice of the pendency of the action in any manner or form, the return of the officer endorsed upon the summons is only prima facie evidence of service and may be overthrown by proof of such lack of notice." Also the holding in the Nuttalburg case requires a defendant seeking to set aside a default judgment or decree, to allege and prove that he had a just defense.
Subsequent to the decision in the Nuttallburg case, this Court in applying the "verity rule", as modified by that decision, rigidly adhered to former decisions until the decision of the instant case. See the cases of Stepp v. RoadCommissioner,
Another modification of the verity rule relating to an officer's return of service of process will be found in the holding of this Court in Ruffner v. Steamship Co.,
This Court has drawn a distinction between the physical acts of an officer making a return of service which lie in his own knowledge and the facts assumed by him. Hatfield v. Coal CokeCo.,
Of course, there are exceptions to the general statement of the rule as exemplified in Slingluff v. Gainer,
We are here confronted with the single question: May a fact stated in a return of service of process about which the officer has first hand knowledge be disputed by a plea in abatement.
With deference to the majority opinion, all cases I have examined in Virginia and in this State disclose that there is no authority for the decision herein that a plea in abatement may be used to dispute the return of service of process of an officer in the circumstances disclosed herein.
The opinion of the Court has rendered vulnerable the return of an officer on process emanating from a court in practically all cases. The only requirement is that the plea in abatement challenging the return be timely filed. The case ofNuttallburg Smokeless Fuel Co. v. Bank, supra, was the first inroad on the well established "verity rule." Under the opinion of the Court in the instant case the last vestige of the verity rule is virtually destroyed, and no longer obtains as a part of the jurisprudence of this State. The reasons for the verity rule are well supported by reason, authority and sound policy. It is true that Judge Lively in the Nuttalburg case criticized the rule. Nevertheless, the rule has long been accepted and acted upon in this State. Now the principle is set aside by this Court for light and transient reasons, and upon authority which in no wise is applicable. The facts in the cases ofWilliamson v. Taylor, supra, and Crouch v. Crouch, supra, are only faintly similar to the facts in the instant case. The established and undoubted law of a jurisdiction should not be changed on the basis of conjecture, guess-work, supposition, or impulse.
The rule announced in the Court's opinion herein not only impinges upon the "verity rule", as modified by theNuttallburg case, but on the contrary strikes at the rule as modified, and virtually destroys it.
I do not think in the instant case any question of notice or whether defendant has a just defense, can be raised. The simple proposition of law is that defendant had no *296 right to controvert the return of service by the officer by a plea in abatement.
I would affirm the judgment of the Circuit Court of Preston County.