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2 Johns. 183

Meyer M'Clean

New York Supreme Court

Decided February 15, 1807

New York Supreme Court · decided 1807-02-15

moved in arrest of judgment in this cause, on the ground, that the plea of nil debet to an action of debt on a judgment was a nullity. He contended, that by going to trial, the defendant had not affirmed the plea; that -mil tiel record was the only general issue, and the statute expressly required the general issue to be pleaded. The statute allowing special matter to be given in evidence under the general issue, was for the purpose of avoiding special pleading.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1807-02-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently January 1889

4 state decisions

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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.

¶1Without deciding whether nil debet might or might not be pleaded for form’s sake, and as an issue to the country, for the purpose merely of upholding notices of payment, and thus secured to a person sued on a judgment of one of our own courts, the benefits intended by the statue to facilitate pleading,* we are all of opinion,

¶2*183that the plaintiff having treated this plea in the present case as a legal plea, and having gone to trial upon it, he cannot now allege any thing against it, and is concluded by his own acts. This decision is analogous to that of Rush v. Cobbet, decided here in January terra, 1801. Bush sued on a judgment obtained in Pennsylvania, and the defendant pleaded nil debet and payment. On the trial tho plaintiff offered no proof of the judgment, concluding that the plea of nil debet admitted it. The court held, that the plaintiff was hound to make out his case by proving the judgment; and that whether nil debet was a good plea or not, the plaintiff having gone to trial upon it, was concluded from objecting to it. This decision took place before it had been held that such a judgment could be impeached, and is therefore applicable to this case. The plaintiff must take nothing by his motion.

¶3Judgment for the plaintiff

¶4 Laws of N. Y. Vol. 2. p. 346.

¶5 Seevol. 1. p. 509, S. C.

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