Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

31 Ill. 318

Billings v. Lafferty

Illinois Supreme Court

Decided April 15, 1863

Illinois Supreme Court · decided 1863-04-15

Weit of Eeeoe to the Circuit Court of Warren county. Billings instituted bis action of trespass on the case in the court below, against Lafferty, setting forth in his declaration that the plaintiff had previously thereto obtained a judgment before a justice of the peace, against one Thorn, in an action of forcible detainer, for the possession of certain described premises; and that a writ of restitution was therein awarded.

Cited by 1 later decisions (1 by the Supreme Court) — most recently May 1991

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1863-04-15

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Mr. Chief Justice CatoN

¶1delivered the opinion of the Court.

¶2Admitting that it was necessary for the plaintiff to show in the declaration that the defendant did the act willfully and maliciously, in order to maintain the action, we think these averments amount to that. The language of the declaration is, “contriving, and wrongfully and unjustly intending, to injure the plaintiff, and to deprive him of the benefit of his said judgment,” etc. Now if this be true, he acted both maliciously and willfully. If he accepted this bond for the purpose, wrongfully and unjustly, of depriving the plaintiff of his rights, this was the very essence of malice. And such is the substance of this averment. We think the demurrer should have been overruled. The judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded, with leave to the defendant to plead.

¶3Judgment reversed, and cause remcmded.

/31/ill/318 · .json · Public domain