1 Rawle 458 | Pa. | 1829
The,opinion of the court was delivered by
The defendant in error brought an action of trespass in the Court of Common Pleas of Bradford county,, against Reuben Wilbur, the plaintiff in error, for taking, seizing, and carrying away his goods, of the value of two hundred dollars. A verdict and judgment were rendered for-the plaintiff below; and in the course of the trial, it appeared, that Reuben Wilbur, the defendant, (while sheriff of that county;) had) (by virtue of a Fieri Facias, issued upon a judgment obtained by Eason Baily against John B. Farr,) levied, by a deputy, on personal property, claimed by Amos Strickland, the plaintiff. The deputation from sheriff Wilbur, dated on the 26th of January, 1827, was to execute the Fieri Facias at the risk of Eason Baily, plaintiff in the execution. Amos Strickland, the plaintiff, offered to prove, that the' deputy., professing to act under the authority of the deputation and execution, committed a trespass in taking his property; to which offer the defendant objected, on the ground, that as the deputation was a special one, Reuben Wilbur, the defendant, was not liable. The court, however, admitted the evidence, which forms the first bill of exceptions, "and is now assigned for error. The evidence was properly admitted, for it has been;settled, that if on a Fieri Facias against A. a bailiff takes the goods of B., trespass lies against the sheriff, and for this I refer to 2 Bl. Rep. 832,, and Hazard v. Israel, 1 Binn. 240. See 3 Wils. 309, and Dougl. 40, where it is expressly so decided. For all' civil purposes, the sheriff is answerable in an action of trespass for the conduct of his deputy. Indeed, on the argument, the counsel for the plaintiff in error did not. press this objection. ' ,. ‘ -
The plaintiff below claimed the property'.in question, “ under a transfer to him from John B. Farr, and as security to him for having signed an obligation with John B-.Farr. for about seventy dollars. If he, Strickland, should have to pay the debt, the property to be his absolutely;” and he alleged -that he did pay it. On the trial, the- defendant having proved, by many witnesses, that John B. Farr continued in possession of the property; used it as his own; repeatedly said it was his; exercised every act of ownership over it; traded with the horses in Í826; often offered to trade them away; did exchange one of them; and, in the presence of the plaintiff) Strickland, after the transfer, said the horses were his own, which was not denied by Strickland; and, having, moreover, proved by Samuel Roberts, that John B. Farr had purchased the horses, wagon, and harness, from him, some time before the sale, or transfer; further, offered to prove by Roberts, 11 that when he let John
Judgment reversed, and a venire facias denovo awarded.
Ante, page 362,