Opinion

Phillips & Crew Co. v. Hyatt

  • 167 N.C. 570
Court
Supreme Court of North Carolina
Filed
Dec 23, 1914
Status
Published
Author
Brown
On the bench
Brown
Cited by
1 cases
Authority
More cited than 47.6%

The opinion

Brown, J.

We agree with his Honor that the defendant is not an innocent purchaser for value, and that he acquired no title under the sale against the plaintiff.

The whole proceeding was very irregular, if not void, and the defendant had personal knowledge of all the irregularities. One execution was issued on two separate and distinct judgments, in one of which no service had been made, and no jurisdiction acquired over the judgment debtor. The execution directed the property attached to be sold on 23 August, the very day that the judgments were rendered, and the piano was sold on 25 August at this defendant’s residence, without any advertisement, in presence of half-dozen persons, and was bid off by the defendant at $135, much less than its value. The defendant had full knowledge of these gross irregularities.

It is true that a purchaser at a sheriff’s sale is not bound to look farther than to see that he is an officer who sells, and that he is empowered to do so by a valid execution. Blount v. Mitchell, 1 N. C., 85 ; but this *574 defendant was not an innocent purchaser. He had full knowledge of the invalidity of the execution directing on its face a sale without advertisement. Defendant also knew that in fact no advertisement whatever had been made, and that the sale was made two days after the rendition of the judgment in defendant’s own house, and in the presence of only half-dozen persons. That such a sale is void as to him admits of no question. Rev., sec. 648; Barbee v. Scoggins, 121 N. C., 143 ; Alston v. Morphew, 113 N. C., 460 ; McNeely v. Hart, 30 N. C., 492 .

Affirmed.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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