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116 Mass. 170

Goodrich v. Stevens

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Decided October 24, 1874

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · decided 1874-10-24

Contract upon a judgment of the Supreme Court of the state of New York. At the trial before Gray, C. J., the plaintiff introduced as evidence of the judgment declared on an exemplification of it which was partly printed and partly in writing. The defendant objected that the certificate of the clerk appended to the exemplification applied to the written part only.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1874-10-24

How this case has been cited

Cited by 6 later decisions — most recently January 1949

1 district · 5 state decisions

2018741880189019001910192019301940decided

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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Endicott, J.

¶1A portion of the judgment roll offered by the plaintiff was printed, and a portion was in writing. The only objection to its admission was, that the certificate of the clerk applied to the written part only. This is a matter to be determined by examination and inspection of the papers. No question of law is involved in the decision, and it is apparent that the certificate was intended to and does extend to the whole judgment roll. The ruling of the presiding judge admitting it in evidence was correct. Knapp v. Abell, 10 Allen, 485. 1 Greenl. Ev. §§ 504, 506.

¶2The facts which the defendant offered to prove, if proper matter of defence, should have been presented in the original action. It was alleged in the plaintiff’s complaint in that action, that the contract and all rights of action arising thereon had, for a good consideration, been assigned to the plaintiff. This would authorize^ him under the laws of New York to bring an action in his own name. It is not denied that the court had jurisdiction of the parties. Process was duly served, the defendant appeared and made answer, raising no question upon the assignment. The case was tried by a jury upon the "issues presented by the defendant. Judgment was rendered against him, which on appeal to the general term was affirmed. He is now concluded by that judgment.

¶3To allow this defence would not be giving full faith and credit to the judicial proceedings of another state, when the court has jurisdiction of the parties, the subject matter, and its proceedings are not founded in fraud; and would open to defendants when sued on a judgment so obtained, any defence which they had neglected to make in the original. action. Carleton v. Bickford, 13 Gray, 591. Hall v. Williams, 6 Pick. 232. 1 Greenl. Ev. § 548.

¶4The action is properly brought in the plaintiff’s name, he being the judgment creditor, although another may be entitled to the avails of it. Moore v. Coughlin, 4 Allen, 335.

¶5Exceptions overruled.

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