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13 Wend. 280

Hughes v. Stickney

New York Supreme Court

Decided January 15, 1835

New York Supreme Court · decided 1835-01-15

Error from the Genesee common pleas. Hughes sued Stickney in a justice’s court. Issue was joined between them, and the cause tried by a jury. No evidence was given on the part of the defendant.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1835-01-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 9 later decisions — most recently March 1910

8 state decisions

50183518401850186018701880189019001910decided

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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¶1By the Court,

Nelson, J.

¶2It is perfectly clear, from the language_of the statute, that the defendant below was not entitled to bring ths certiorari in this case. “ Either party, thinking himself aggrieved by such judgment, may remove it by certiorari.” 2 R. S. 255, § 170. That the party must in some way be injured by the judgment he seeks to reverse, is fairly implied from all the cases. 2 Johns. R. 8,9. 6 id. 111. 7 id. 373. Archb. Br. 230. Thinking one’s self aggrieved may be enough to bring the certiorari; but success in the proceeding is a different thing. Hughes brought the suit below against Stickney, and sought to recover for various charges of an account; the defendant acted merely on the defensive. He introduced no witnesses, and claimed nothing himself against the plaintiff. The jury found a verdict for him; they were called in the absence of the plaintiff; and for this error, the defendant brought a certiorari and reversed his own judgment, and has subjected his adversary to upwards of twenty dollars costs.

¶3The judgment was undoubtedly erroneous, and the plaintiff could have reversed it, as he was aggrieved; but I am not aware of any rule or practice.that will permit the defendant to volunteer to right him. I think he should continue to suffer, unless he chooses to move himself in the matter.

¶4Apartymayreverse his own judgment whenhe is aggrieved by it, as he sometimes maybe; and in England at one time he might do so, although not aggrieved, for a reason since exploded, that the. king would lose his fine, and the reversal was for his benefit. Beecher v. Shirley, Cro. Jac. 211. It was expressly decided in William v. Gwyn, 2 Saund. 46, that a party shall not reverse his own judgment,, unless he shows the error is to his disadvantage. See also 14 Johns. R. 441.

¶5*283The plaintiff in error might have quashed the certiorari ; but the error appears on the record, and we cannot but see that the reversal of the judgment of the justice was wrong in the common pleas. "

¶6Judgment reversed.

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