Earl Crawford v. Frank L. Taylor, Judge

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia refused a writ of prohibition sought to halt a chancery suit in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County that would subject the petitioners' real estate to sale under two justice-court judgments which the respondents' demurrer admitted were obtained by splitting a single $543.64 grocery debt into two actions. The court held that a circuit court with jurisdiction of the parties and the subject matter — the land lay in Kanawha County — has jurisdiction to determine the validity of a judgment sought to be enforced in chancery even if that judgment is void on its face, so any error in upholding the judgments is correctable by appeal rather than by prohibition. Because the chancery suit was still at rules and the judge had not passed on any defense, he had not exceeded or been about to exceed his legitimate powers under Code, 53-1-1. Judge Lovins, joined by Judge Riley, dissented, reasoning that the void judgments could support no valid execution and therefore no jurisdictional foundation for a lien creditor's suit, and would have awarded the writ.