North v. Yorke

Citations

• 174 Pa. 349
• 34 A. 620
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 887

Syllabus

<p>Judgment — -Striking off judgment.</p> <p>Judgments cannot be legally stricken from the record save for irregularity or illegality.</p> <p>The motion to strike off judgment is essentially a common law proceeding, a short and summary substitute for an audita querela, a writ of error coram nobis, or a certiorari or a writ of error from a superior court, by which the same relief was administered. Being for irregularity apparent on the face of the proceedings, it is in the nature of a demurrer to the record and is not confined to any particular kind of judgments, nor limited as to the time it may be taken advantage of, nor affected by matters dehors the record, except so far as defendant may have put himself in position to be estopped from making the objection.</p> <p>On the sixteenth day after a writ and statement of claim were served on the defendant, judgment by default was entered for want of an affidavit of defense, and the damages liquidated. An appearance was entered for the defendant a week before judgment was entered, but no affidavit of defense was filed until nine days after the entry of judgment. Held, that the court was powerless to strike the judgment from the record, inasmuch as it was not only regular on its face, but perfectly regular and valid in point of fact.</p>