Ewing v. Nickle

Alvey, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. To entitle the complainant to the aid of a Court of equity to restrain, by injunction, the execution of the judgment of the justice of the peace rendered against him, it was incumbent upon him to allege in his bill, and plainly show in proof, that it is against equity and good conscience that the judgment should be enforced. He must not only show there is injustice in the rendition or enforcement of the judgment, but he must also show that his own conduct and dealings with the matter have been in all respects fair and consistent with equity.' If he has been negligent and inattentive to the case while pending before the justice, and by his own conduct brought about the state of things of which he complains, a Court of equity can afford no relief. Indeed, no principle is better settled, than that a party will not be relieved as against a judgment at law, whether recovered in a Court of superior jurisdiction, or before a justice of the peace, unless he can impeach the justice of such judgment by facts, or on grounds of which he could not have availed himself at law, or was prevented from so doing, by fraud or accident, or the act of the opposite party, unmixed with fault or negligence on his part, or that of his agent.

Gott & Wilson, ⁴¹⁶ vs. Carr, 6 Gill & John., 309 ; Briesch vs. McCauley, 7 Gill, 189 ; Duncan vs. Lyon, 3 John. Ch., 351. Now, applying these well settled principles to the facts disclosed in the record before us, it is perfectly manifest that the complainant has failed to present a ca'áe to entitle him to the relief prayed in his bill, and that, therefore, the Court below was right in dissolving the injunction. All the material facts alleged in the bill, upon which reliance is placed to sustain the injunction, are. flatly denied by the answer of the plaintiff in the judgment.

In addition to this, we have the testimony of the justice who rendered the judgment, and of James S. Nickle, who, as agent of his father, brought the suit against the complainant, both of whom flatly disprove the material allegations of the bill; the only proof on the part of the complainant being that given by himself as witness. That the complainant was duly served with process, to appear and defend the suit; that he did appear on the return day, and then prayed a postponement of the case to a future day, to enable him to prepare for trial, and that he failed to appear on the