Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

35 Ill. 265

Johnson v. Adleman

Illinois Supreme Court

Decided April 15, 1864

Illinois Supreme Court · decided 1864-04-15

Appeal'from the Circuit Court of Will county; the Hon. Sidney W. Habéis, Judge, presiding. This was an action of ejectment commenced in the court, below by Christopher Adleman against Andrew Johnson, for the recovery of the southeast quarter of lot number three, in block number seventy-one, in the town of Lockport, in Will county, to which the plaintiff claimed title in fee simple.

Relies on Owens v. Ranstead · Durham v. Heaton · Dickerman v. Burgess

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1864-04-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions — most recently June 1925

5 state decisions

201864187018801890190019101920decided

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 →

Mr. Justice Beeese

¶1delivered the opinion of the Court:

¶2The points raised on the record are few and simple, and therefore not difficult to be decided.

¶3As to the action of the Circuit Court, in apparent contravention of its own rules, we have to observe that the reasoning in the case of Owens v. Ranstead, 22 Ill. 161, as is apparent from the language used, and the case under consideration, was not designed to apply to motions, of course, made in the progress of a cause. Ho general rules can well apply to them. And besides, it was a matter of perfect indifference whether the court entertained a motion to strike out the special plea or sustained a demurrer to it. The plea had no proper place in the action on trial.

¶4The important objection, as it strikes us, to the recovery in this case, is, that the evidence does not support it. The judgment in the scire facias, on which the premises were sold, was a judgment in favor of Jacob Helbig, and so was the execution which issued on it. The sheriff’s return shows that he sold the property to the plaintiff. His deed is made to Christopher Adleman, and recites a judgment in favor of John Helbig. There is no proof there was no judgment in favor of John Helbig.

¶5This court held, in the case of Dickerman v. Burgess, 20 Ill. 266, that there should be entire conformity in the return of the sheriff, his certificate and deed; and if they do not possess it, they will be held invalid.

¶6The property was struck off to the plaintiff in the execution. The certificate should have been issued to him, and the deed made to him. The deed is made to Adleman as the purchaser. Here is not conformity.

¶7It would be easy for the sheriff to amend his return, and show that the property was struck off to Adleman, if that was the fact. Then the deed would be correct, so far as that point is involved. As to the statement of the judgment being in favor of John Helbig, when it was really in favor of Jacob Helbig, that might be corrected on a proper application for such purpose.

¶8Had there been proof that no other judgment had existed than the one in favor of Jacob Helbig, on the records of the Will Circuit Court, the recital would have been considered as a mistake, and not vitiating the deed. To that effect are the cases cited by appellee, especially the case of Durham et al. v. Heaton, 28 Ill. 264.

¶9If a homestead right was claimed by the defendant, he could have shown it under the plea of not guilty. Patterson v. Kreig, 29 Ill. 514.

¶10As to the paper purporting to be a sheriff’s deed having no seal, it will be seen the defendant did not object to its going in evidence on that account, but for the other reasons which we have stated.

¶11The judgment is reversed and the cause remanded.

¶12Judgment reversed.

/35/ill/265 · .json · Public domain