Williamson v. Krumbhaar

Citations

• 132 Pa. 455
• 19 A. 281
• 1890 Pa. LEXIS 838

Syllabus

<p>1. When a debtor claims ás against an execution the benefit of the exemption allowed by the act of April 9, 1849, P. L. 583, it is the duty of the sheriff to appraise and set apart to him property to the amount thereof, unless a waiver or some other specific act of the defendant, which clearly and without doubt deprives him of that right, is brought to the sheriff’s notice.</p> <p>2. A notice from the execution plaintiff, when informed by the sheriff of the claim for the exemption, that “the conduct of the defendant has been such as to forfeit his right,” is insufficient to affect the sheriff with knowledge that the execution defendant had joined with his wife in asserting ownership, on her part, of the goods levied upon.</p> <p>3. The sheriff lias no right to demand indemnity from the defendant as a condition of allowing the exemption claimed, as this would in most cases practically defeat the operation of the statute: — nor can he, it seems, secure himself in disregarding such claim by an indemnity from the plaintiff, unless there be a claim of property by some third party.</p> <p>4. The sheriff is vested with no discretion in the premises, and is not responsible to the plaintiff in damages for recognizing the defendant’s demand, except in case of a formal waiver or of a wilful or wanton disregard of the plaintiff’s plain right; the proper remedy of the plaintiff in all disputed eases where the sheriff has mistakenly or wrongfully allowed an appraisement, is to move the court to set the appraisement aside.</p> <p>5. The claim of exemption must not be delayed unnecessarily until costs have been incurred which might readily have been avoided; a claim made on June 9th is in time as against an execution issued May 23d, when at the date of the claim no day of sale has been fixed, no advertisements posted, and, so far as is shown, no other expense incurred in executing the writ.</p>