Shenandoah V. R. R. v. Ashby's Trustees

Citations

• 86 Va. 232
• 9 S.E. 1003
• 1889 Va. LEXIS 30

Syllabus

<p>1. Judgment — Conclusireness—Presumption—Exception.—Presumption that court of general jurisdiction within its authority acts rightly and has jurisdiction to render its judgment until contrary appears, applies only to matters as to which the record is silent, and cannot operate to supxily jurisdictional facts, which the returns must show affirmatively.</p> <p>2. Idem— Amendment of return.—But the court before or after judgment, may permit, after any lax>se of time the return of its xirocess, original, mesne or final, to he amended, to correct a mistake or omission, even to take away a cause of action on. the original return, though a suit thereon he then pending, and though the officer who made the return has gone out of office or be dead. The amendment relates back to the date of the original return. Stotz v. Collins, 83 Va., 423. But in no case ought this power be exercised, unless the court can see that it will he in furtherance of justice.</p> <p>3. Idem—Case at bar.—Here return of summons was amended 13 years after judgment by default, to show that service of summons .was on a director of defendant corporation in the county wherein he resided, and the judgment validated by the amendment.</p> <p>M. Idem—Subsequent mortgages.—If the judgment be duly docketed and nothing in the record shows it was invalid, when subsequent mortgages were executed, the existence of such mortgages should not xn'event the amendment.</p>