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20 A.D. 512

Griffin v. Barton

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · decided 1897-09-15

Appeal by the plaintiff, Jed H. Griffin, from an order of the Franklin County Court, made at a term of the County Court of Franklin county, and entered in the office of the clerk of the county of Franklin on the 6th day of July, 1897, denying the plaintiff’s motion for an order that the justice before whom the case was tried make and file an amended return herein, in which he specify whether or not the petition was verified prior to the issuing of the precept.

Decided 1897-09-15

Herrick, J.:

¶1The return of the justice already made sets forth that “ a petition, duly verified, having been presented to the undersigned justice of the peace, on behalf of and by Jed H. Griffin, landlord,” etc.

¶2That is a statement that the petition was properly verified when it was presented to and used before him as a basis for the issuing of a precept.

¶3The petition itself is printed in the record before us, and from it it appears that it was sworn to before the justice who issued the precept in the action and who made the return to the County Court. His name is attached to it as the officer before whom the petitioner was sworn; the proper jurat is attached, except that the day of the month when it was verified is left blank; this does not, under the circumstances, render the verification defective; it is a mere formal error of a kind which will, as a rule, be disregarded. (Baboock v. Kuntzsch, 85 Hun, 33.)

¶4The petition is dated March 27, 1897, and the precept issued in pursuance of it is also dated March 27, 1897, and the verification having been made before the justice who issued the process, and he having certified in his return that before he issued the process a duly verified petition was presented to him, the court may fairly assume upon appeal that the date of its verification was the day upon which it was used and caused the issuing of the process, to wit, the 27th day of March, 1897, and, therefore, a further return is unnecessary, and the order appealed from should be affirmed.

¶5All concurred.

¶6Order affirmed, with ten dollars costs and disbursements.

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