Smith v. Wehrly

Citations

• 157 Pa. 407
• 27 A. 700
• 1893 Pa. LEXIS 1430

Syllabus

<p>[Marked to be reported.]</p> <p>Inlcrpi'etation of statutes — Repeal.</p> <p>Later statutes, which do not abrogate settled practice or repeal former statutes, are to be expounded as near to the use and reason of the prior law as can be, without violation of their intent.</p> <p>Judgment of justice of the peace. — Transcript—Execution—Scire facias —Repeal of statutes — Acts of May 5, 1854, and June 24, 1885.</p> <p>The act of May 5, 1854, P. L. 581, which provides that no execution shall issue on a judgment of a justice of the peace after five years unless revived by scire facias, is not repealed by the act of June 24, 1885, P. L. 160, relating to the filing of transcript of such judgment in the common pleas and to the issuing of execution thereon.</p> <p>Taking the two acts together, it is meant that the judgment on the jus- . tice’s docket, alive, ready lor execution five years from the date it was rendered, can, during that time, by transcript, be entered in the common pleas, and, if there be a return of “ no goods ” to an execution upon it in that time, either before or after filing of transcript, it has all the force of a judgment of the common pleas originally obtained in that court. But, if the judgment be impossible of execution under the act of 1854, because five years have elapsed, then scire facias must issue on it as provided in that act, and after the judgment on the scire facias is had, there must be a return of “no goods ” within the next five years by the constable (except now under the act of May 9, 1889, where the judgment is $100 or upwards) before execution can be levied on either real or personal estate from the common pleas.</p> <p>The act of May 9, 1889, P. L. 176, which dispenses with execution before the justice on judgments of $100 and upwards does not dispense with scire facias after five years.</p>