115 Pa. 107 | Pa. | 1887
delivered the opinion of the court, January 10th, 1887.
The Act of the 9th of April, 1848, vests in a defendant in execution, issued on a judgment obtained on a contract and distress for rent, an absolute right to have an exemption of his property to the value of three hundred dollars, and of this he cannot be deprived by the summary action of a court. He may voluntarily waive this right, or he may lose it by neglecting to claim it in the proper time, otherwise, if he demands of the officer levying the execution or distress for rent an appraisement, and it is refused, that officer must take upon himself the responsibility of such refusal: Freeman v. Smith, 30 Pa. St., 264.
That the case in hand comes within the Act is not denied, neither did the sheriff refuse to perform, or neglect his duty. The appraisement was regularly made, and the goods were delivered to the defendant, but on exceptions filed to the appraisement, the court not only set it aside, but passed upon and disallowed the right of exemption. This action was in excess of its jurisdiction. It undoubtedly had the power, for any proper reason, to set aside the appraisement even though it might become necessary to pass incidentally upon the right itself: Seibert’s Ap., 73 Pa. St., 359. But beyond this "the summary power of the court could not extend; the defendant cannot thus be deprived of the right to demand the exemption, and, upon the neglect or refusal of the officer to comply with that demand, to assert that right by an action at law. Now, whether the appraisement was properly or improperly set aside can be determined only by the record before us, for as there is no bill of exceptions we are.not at liberty to consider the evidence. We may say, however, that it has not been made to appear affirm
The order disallowing the exemption is reversed and the appraisement confirmed.