Stockham v. Jones

Decided January 15, 1813

New York Supreme Court · decided 1813-01-15

THIS was an action of trespass quare clausum fregit. The oapias ad respondendum was served only on Jones and Kearney, two of the defendants, and was returned non est inventus, as to the ’ _ other. The plaintiff declared against the two that were arrested, and the other defendant as returned not found. Jerome never appeared or pleaded. The cause was tried at the Onondaga circuit, in 1812, before Mr. Justice Spencer.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1813-01-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 10 later decisions — most recently June 1891

8 state decisions

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Per Curiam.

¶1As Jerome was named in the writ and could not be taken, and was proved to be a party concerned in the trespass, he was an incompetent witness according to the old rule. (Bull. N. P. 286. Lloyd v. Williams, Cases temp. Hardw. 115.) But since the case of Bent v. Baker, and which has for many years been adopted by this court, as the proper rule, (Van Nuys v. Terhune, 3 Johns. Cases, 82.) the incompetency of a witness, on the ground of interest, must be confined to a legal fixed interest *23in the event of the suit. Jerome had no such interest, and the objection went only to his credit.

¶2The verdict must be set aside, and a new trial awarded, with costs to abide the event.

¶3New trial granted.