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120 Ind. 416

Peters v. Banta

Indiana Supreme Court

Decided September 20, 1889

Indiana Supreme Court · decided 1889-09-20

<p>Pleading. — Supplemental Oomplaint. — A supplemental complaint is not an independent pleading, but constitutes a part of tbe plaintiff’s complaint, and as such is not separately demurrable.</p> <p>Same. — Defects Cured by Verdict. — Where the supplemental complaint and the original pleading together state facts sufficient to bar another action for the same cause, other defects, in the absence of a demurrer, will be cured by verdict.</p> <p>Heal Estate. — Action to Recover. — Pending Appeal. — In an action to recover possession of real estate the fact that an appeal lias been taken from the judgment which constitutes the foundation of the plaintiff’s title, is no defence.</p> <p>Venire de Novo.— When Will not be Granted. — A motion for a venire de novo will not lie if there is no such informality or uncertainty in the verdict as to prevent the court from rendering the proper judgment.</p> <p>Sheriff’s Sale. — Issuing of Execution. — Finding as to. — Where it is found that a sheriff advertised property for sale, had it appraised, sold it, executed a certificate of purchase, made a proper return of the order of sale and executed a deed to the purchaser, it will be deemed that an execution was properly issued, without any express finding to that effect.</p> <p>Change of Venue.— Who Entitled to. — Statute Gonstmed. — The provision of the statute (section 412, R. S. 1881), that a change of venue shall be granted “ upon the application of either party,” means the plaintiffs or defendants collectively, and does not entitle each individual defendant or plaintiff to a change.</p> <p>Continuance. — Pending Appeal in Other Action. — It is no ground for a continuance that an appeal has been taken and is pending in another case between the same parties, but, in a proper case and upon a proper application, there may be a stay of proceedings.</p> <p>Practice. — Pleading.—Harmless Error. — There is no available error in sustaining a demurrer to a special paragraph of answer if the facts therein pleaded are admissible in evidence under the general denial.</p> <p>Supreme Court. — Assignment of Error. — Must be Specific. — Under section 655, R. S. 1881, an assignment of error must be specific and definite in its terms; hence an assignment that “ the court erred in sustaining the demurrer to the sixth paragraph of the defendant’s answer” only calls in question the sufficiency of such paragraph of answer, and the sufficiency of the complaint will not be examined or passed upon.</p>

Relies on Stockwell v. State ex rel. Johnson · Ruffing v. Tilton · Trentman v. Fletcher

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1889-09-20

How this case has been cited

Cited by 62 later decisions — most recently May 1971 · most notably Indianapolis Traction & Terminal Co. v. Kidd (1906), Dill v. Fraze (1907)

2 district · 60 state decisions

2101889189019001910192019301940195019601970decided

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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¶1On Petition foe a Eeheaeing.

Berkshire., J.

¶2Counsel for the appellant has filed a *424most elaborate petition and brief, and urges it with unusual earnestness.

¶3Three reasons are alleged why the prayer of the petition should be granted. We do not care to notice the second and third, and only call attention to the first that we may cite a section of the statute, and some of our own cases bearing upon the question, which we should have referred to in our original opinion, and had we done so would, no doubt, have saved counsel much labor.

¶4Section 655, R. S. 1881, reads: “ No pleading shall be required in the Supreme Court upon an appeal; but a specific assignment of all errors relied upon, to be entered on the transcript in matters of law only, which shall be assigned on or before the first day of the term at which the cause' stands for trial; and the appellee shall file his answer thereto.”

¶5Webster says, in his second definition, which is the one applicable here, that the word “ specific ” means, “ tending to specify, or make particular; definite; limited; precise; as a specific statement.”

¶6Applying this definition, when the appellants alleged as error that the court below erred in sustaining the demurrer to the sixth paragraph of answer, they thereby confined and limited this court to a consideration of the answer; not as to whether it was sufficient, though bad, for abad complaint, but whether or not it stated such facts as in law constituted a good defence to the action, supposing the complaint to be good. The sufficiency of the complaint was not brought in question by the alleged error; as to that pleading it was not particular, definite, limited, or precise. As to the complaint, the alleged error made no specific statement; it made no reference to the complaint. An assignment of error must be specific and definite' in its terms. Ruffing v. Tilton, 12 Ind. 259; Hamrick v. Danville, etc., G. R. Co., 41 Ind. 170.

¶7In Stockwell v,. State, ex rel., 101 Ind. 1, one of the assignments of error was that the court below erred in sustaining *425the demurrer to the third paragraph of answer. In that ease the learned judge who delivered the opinion said : “This assignment brings in question the sufficiency of that paragraph of answer and requires an examination of it, but it •does not require an examination of the complaint, or call in question its sufficiency.” He further says: “ It is very clear that the complaint can not be examined, or passed upon, under this assignment of error. To make the question which this appellant seeks to make, he should have assigned as error that the court below erred in not carrying the demurrer back, and sustaining it, to the complaint.”

¶8In Hunter v. Fitzmaurice, 102 Ind. 449, the error assigned was, that the court below erred in sustaining the appellee’s demurrer to the answer of the appellant. It was •contended that the demurrer should have been sustained to the complaint-

¶9We make the following quotation from the opinion: “ Under the asignment which is set out above, it is contended the court erred in not carrying the demurrer back and sustaining it to the complaint. The defect in the complaint insisted on is that suit was brought on the note before it fell due. Upon this question, if it was properly assigned, the ruling in Trentman v. Fletcher, 100 Ind. 105, is applicable. Stockwell v. State, ex rel., 101 Ind. 1. We are of opinion, however, that the assignment of error set out presents no question except the rulings on the above answer.”

¶10In Williams v. Stevenson, 103 Ind. 243, it is said: “ The rule is well settled that the questions for decision here are such, and only such, as are presented by the assignment of errors, and that the record must so present the rulings below that this court may determine as to the correctness of them. Stockwell v. State, ex rel., 101 Ind. 1. We must,, therefore, confine our examination to the alleged errors assigned, and pass upon the rulings- below so far, and only so far, as the *426record so presents them, that we may intelligently determine whether they are correct or erroneous.”

Filed Dee. 13, 1889.

¶11The petition is overruled, with costs.

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