Anderson v. Best

Citations

• 176 Pa. 498
• 35 A. 194
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 1104

Syllabus

<p>Judgment — Satisfaction of judgment — Payment—Act of March 14, 1876.</p> <p>Where a person has a judgment entered upon a bond and warrant of attorney, both regular on their face, the court of common pleas has no jurisdiction to make a summary order of satisfaction, except under the act of March 14, 1876, P. L. 7, which is confined to clear cases of actual payment.</p> <p>Want of consideration is not a defense to a bond executed and delivered. Failure of consideration, however, is a ground of defense, because it raises an equity for relief which will be enforced in Pennsylvania even by courts of law.</p> <p>A judgment entered upon a bond and warrant of attorney was paid, except as to two items. As to the first of these items it appeared that defendant sold to plaintiff a one eighth interest in certain oil lands, but before the deed was made he sold his whole interest in the land to another party at an advanced price. On plaintiff making complaint defendant promised to pay her one eighth of the advance he had realized, and this was liquidated by the parties at $1,250. As to tlie second item it appeared that defendant not having money enough to carry out a purchase of land agreed with plaintiff that if she would buy in his place, he would take the property off her hands, and treat the money advanced as a loan to him. The plaintiff bought the land and subsequently having demanded a fulfillment (if the promise, a computation was made of what plaintiff had paid for the land, and what she had received as royalty from it, and the difference as liquidated by the parties-was apart of the judgment confessed. The evidence showed that the bond was given after an adjustment of accounts, and that it was really an account stated. The court below ordered an entry of satisfaction upon the judgment on the ground that the two items above referred to were within the statute of frauds. Held, (1) that the statute of frauds had no application to the case; (2) that as the judgment was no