Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

3 Conn. 157

Peck v. Sill

Supreme Court of Connecticut

Decided October 19, 1819

Supreme Court of Connecticut · decided 1819-10-19

THIS was an action of ejectment, tried at New-London. January term, 1819, before Swift, Ch. J. and Brainard and Chapman, Js. On the 6th of August, 1817, the plaintiff prayed out a writ of attachment against William Hall and Robbins, of the city of New-York, describing them as merchants in company? under the firm of Hall Robbins, on which the land demanded was attached as the property of Hall.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1819-10-19

How this case has been cited

Cited by 6 later decisions — most recently November 1916

6 state decisions

1018191820183018401850186018701880189019001910decided

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.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Hosmer, Ch. J.

¶1By his attachment, the plaintiff obtained priority of lien. The amendment, however, which the county court permitted him to make, constituted a nezo ground of action, against a nezo party ; and by reason of it, the lien was annulled. The construction of the statute concerning amendments has, with much propriety, been very liberal; but it has not been, and cannot be, extended to an alteration, which varies the ground of the action, ánd introduces a new party on the record. A debt due from Hall & Robbins has no identity with a debt due from Hall only ; and the natural person Hall is not the artificial person formed by the copartnership of Hall & Robbins.

¶2The judgment of the county court, although necessary to the continuance of the lien, did not create it: the foundation of it was a lawful attachment; and whatever fact terminated the attachment, equally dissolved the lien.

¶3The manner of proving the dissolution of the lien, by pa-rol testimony, was altogether unexceptionable. It was the best evidence the nature of the case admitted of; nor can I conceive how the point could otherwise have been evinced.

¶4The plaintiff, on whom the proof regularly devolved, to shew the priority of his lien, must have resorted to the same evidence. The production of the attachment in a suit against *160Hall & Robbins, would be wholly inapposite to shew a continuance of the lien, by judgment, in the action against Hull only; nor could it have been made relevant, unless by -the exhibition of the same testimony on which the defendant relied.

¶5No fraud is imputed to the plaintiff, by the record ; nor was it necessary. By the change of action and party, the lien was terminated as effectually as if the suit originally commenced by the plaintiff had been withdrawn ; as most clearly it was abandoned, and another substituted.

¶6The determination of the superior court was, unquestionably, correct.

The other Judges were of the same opinion.

¶7New trial not to be granted.

/3/conn/157 · .json · Public domain