City of Scranton v. Genet

Citations

• 232 Pa. 272
• 81 A. 335
• 1911 Pa. LEXIS 713

Syllabus

<p>Municipal claims — Loss of claim — Scire facias — Statutory ’ period— Act of June 4,1901, P. L. 864-</p> <p>1. The Act of June 4,1901, P. L. 364, which act provides a complete and exclusive system regulating the creation of liens for municipal improvements and prescribes the method for their enforcement, does not contemplate indefinite prolongation of the lien of a claim filed through successive revivals by writs of scire facias. No provisions for the revival of the lien of the claim can be found in the act.</p> <p>2. The first scire facias provided for in sec. 10 of the act is process by which the claim may be reduced to judgment; which judgment must be revived by writ of scire facias, “to revive the judgment.” Under this provision, if the claim be not filed within the time prescribed, or if it be not prosecuted by scire facias within five years of the time of filing, it will be wholly lost.</p> <p>3. Where in an action on a municipal lien, a scire facias issued within the statutory period proved abortive, not having been served according to law, and the period closed with the return of the writ, the lien not only was at an end, but in the language of the act the claim was “wholly lost” beyond possible recovery; and the fact that the defendant caused a general appearance-do be entered to an alias scire facias issued after the expiration of the period could not supply the existence of a legal claim on which such a scire facias could properly issue, without which any action of the court would be a mere nullity.</p>