Keystone Brewing Co. v. Canavan

Citations

• 221 Pa. 366
• 70 A. 785
• 1908 Pa. LEXIS 490

Syllabus

<p>Foreign attachment — Judgment for want of an appearance — Assessment of damages — Pleading—Nulla tona — Duty of garnishee.</p> <p>To support an assessment of damages in a foreign attachment after judgment against the defendant for want of an appearance, the record should show that a rule had been taken by the plaintiff, that in pursuance of the rule the damages had been assessed, and that evidence had been produced before the prothonotary upon which the assessment had been made. Mere figures and a calculation on the back of the praecipe directing the entry of judgment, are not sufficient to support the assessment, where there is nothing whatever upon the docket to show that damages had been assessed at all, or that judgment had been entered for any amount whatever. The proceeding is statutory, and the record should disclose that the damages had been assessed in compliance with the statute.</p> <p>A defective assessment of damages in the judgment on a foreign attachment against the defendant, may be taken advantage of by the garnishee under the plea of nulla bona on the trial of the cause.</p> <p>It is the duty of a garnishee in a foreign attachment to protect his creditor's interest by resisting the claim of the plaintiff, unless the latter has complied strictly with the statute in procuring the judgment against the defendant and assessing the damages thereon.</p> <p>If the defendant is in court as in the cases of Poor v. Colburn, 57 Pa. 415, and First Nat. Bank v. Trainer, 209 Pa. 387, the garnishee is under no obligation to object to irregularities, inasmuch as the defendant is in court to protect himself.</p>