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16 Johns. 121

Willard v. Sperry

New York Supreme Court

Decided January 15, 1819

New York Supreme Court · decided 1819-01-15

<p>A plaintiff can-entire^contract k£nttb| of money, ex-amount cognizable before a justice of the ?eraf’ smaller bringa'distfnct just°¿be&rfor each: and if an entire demand has been divided m this manner, and ders judgment (iff in each'of the actions, all the judgments ”d* be rever* an\trk"hment ^sued^out^of Court, stating merely that the constable cmtahTgoods™ them.^'errofur(he'r be stated, that a copy of the attachment had been left at the dwelling last place of defendant. * e</p>

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1819-01-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 9 later decisions (1 by the Supreme Court) — most recently November 1904

8 state decisions

201819182018301840185018601870188018901900decided

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.

¶1The judgment is erroneous. The note forming one indivisible contract, cannot be the foundation of several suits. It is a usurpation of jurisdiction, and a justice might, if this be tolerated, take cognizance of con- , , , tracts to any amount.

¶2There is, besides, error in the proceedings in regard to the return of the attachment. The 24th section of the act for the recovery of debts to the value of twenty-five dollars, enacts, “ that it shall be the duty of the constable to attach 7 J and keep the goods, &c. and to leave a copy of such at- , 1 ° rv tachmentat the dwelling house, or other last place of abode of the defendant; and shall return the same to the justice who issued the same, and the manner of executing the same, &c.’’ In this case the return merely states, that the constable had seised the goods, without stating that he left a copy, &c. To bring a defendant in default, so as to justify a trial and judgment ex parte, it must expressly appear, that the process of attachment has been served, by leaving a copy at the dwelling-house or other place of abode of the " *122defendant. For aught that appears, he might have left a fam¡]y; an(j an attorney to defend against all claims.

¶3On both grounds, therefore, the judgment must he reversed.

¶4Judgment reversed.

¶5The judgments rendered by the Justice, in the other actions upon the same promissory note, were also reversed forithe same reasons.

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