United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Bacon v. Howard, 61 U.S. 20 How. 22 22 (1857)

Bacon v. Howard

61 U.S. (20 How.) 22

Syllabus

By the laws of the Republic of Texas, no action would lie on a foreign judgment, and all actions of debt were prescribed in four years.

When about to form a constitution for the purpose of becoming a state of the Union, the legislature passed a law permitting suits to be brought on foreign judgments, but limiting them to sixty days when the judgment was of four years standing and upward.

Page 61 U. S. 23

The plaintiffs' bill attempted to avoid the effect of the last limitation as to their judgment, which was more than four years old, on the ground that they lived more than two thousand miles distant, and could not know of the passage of the last act within time to prosecute their action.

Held that the last-mentioned statute conferred a favor, and was not retrospective, and that plaintiffs' action was barred, whether he knew of the act or not.

The Constitution of the United States does not restrain the right of each state to legislate as to the remedy on suits on judgments in other states.

The case is stated in the opinion of the court.