Town of Lyons v. Cooledge

Citations

• 89 Ill. 529

Syllabus

<p>1. Judgment—not void for irregularity or error. The fact that a town is not given all the time allowed by law to plead to the action after proper service, does not render the judgment taken too soon a nullity, however erroneous and irregular it may be.</p> <p>2. Same—laches in not procuring writ of error to reverse. The fact that a town, against whom an erroneous judgment has been recovered, was prevented by accident, or otherwise, from suing out a writ of error for its reversal, is no defense to an application for a mandamus to compel the auditing of the judgment as a town charge, especially when the town might have procured a writ of error within the five years, but did not through negligence.</p> <p>3. Town auditors—compelled by mandamus to audit judgment. A judgment against a town, under the township system, is made a town charge, and the board of town auditors have no discretion or power to refuse to audit and certify the amount necessary to satisfy the same, and if they refuse, they will be compelled to do so by mandamus.</p> <p>4. Former adjudication—not binding on one not a party. A decree, at the suit of several tax-payers, perpetually enjoining the collection of a town tax levied to pay a demand or debt against the town, on the ground that the debt was fraudulently contracted, does not bind or conclude the holder of such demand, who is not made a party to tho suit, and who afterwards obtains judgment against the town. If such a decree affected such party, it should have been interposed in the suit at law in which such judgment was obtained.</p> <p>5. Same—conclusive as to legal defenses that might have been made. A town can not go behind a judgment rendered against it and question the sufficiency of the cause of action upon which it was predicated, in a collateral proceeding, as, on mandamus to compel the town auditors to audit the same as a town charge.</p> <p>6. Where a bill to perpetually enjoin the collection of a judgment, upon the ground it was re