Spaids v. Barrett

Citations

• 57 Ill. 289

Syllabus

<p>1. Slakdeb—privileged statements in legal proceedings. Whatever is said or written in a legal proceeding, pertinent and material to the matter in controversy, is privileged, and no action can be maintained upon it. So in an action on the case for wrongfully suing out an attachment, a count in the declaration which was merely a count in slander, based upon an alleged libellous affidavit filed for the procurement of the writ, was hdd bad on demurrer.</p> <p>2. Dxjbess of property—whether will amoid a contract. Where goods, requiring special care, and of a perish able nature, were wrongfully taken and kept from the owner thereof by means of a writ of attachment fraudulently obtained, and were rapidly going to destruction, and the party in possession refused to surrender the goods ou payment of the sum actually due, demanding more than twice that amount, and, iu addition thereto, a release from all damages for his wrongful acts, and the defendant in the attachment, to obtain possession of his property, paid the sum demanded and executed the release, it was held, in an action on the case for wrongfully suing out the attachment, a release executed under such circumstances could be avoided on the ground of duress.</p> <p>3. Action on the case—-for maliciously suing out a writ of attachment* An action on the case will lie for maliciously suing out an attachment and seizing the goods of the debtor, even though there was at the time some indebtedness. The party injured in such case is not restricted to a suit on the attachment bond.</p> <p>4. Same—of the averments in the declaration—whether sufficient. In an action on the case for wrongfully suing out an attachment against the goods of the plaintiff, the declaration averred that the money claimed in the attachment was paid to save the property from total ruin: Held, the payment of the money having released the property from the levy and ended the suit, this was equivalent to an averment of a termination of the proceeding i