Smith v. Allen

Citations

• 63 Ill. 474

Syllabus

<p>1. Chancery jurisdiction—relief against judgment at law.- Chancery will not relieve against a judgment at law on the ground of its being contrary to equity, unless the defendant in the judgment was ignorant of the fact in question pending the suit, or it could not have been received as a defense, or-unless he was prevented from availing himself of the defense by fraud or accident, or the act of the opposite party, unmixed with negligence or fault on Ms part.</p> <p>3. Same—accident■—negligence. On bill to set aside a judgment at law, and for a new trial, on the ground that the defendant had a defense to all except nominal damages, and was prevented from making the defense on the ground of accident, it appeared that the party, at the time of the rendition of the judgment, was necessarily absent at another court, and there prepared an affidavit for a continuance, which he sent to his attorney, but that the clerk omitted, by accident, to attach his seal to the jurat, so that the same could not be used: Held, that the bill was deficient in not showing with distinctness that the complainant had employed an attorney to appear for him in the case, and in failing to show that any motion tvas made for a continuance, or that any pleas were filed in the case. It failed to show that complainant had used due diligence in trying to prevent the recovery.</p>