Mandeville v. Holey & Suckley, 26 U.S. 136 (1828)
U.S. Supreme Court
Mandeville v. Holey & Suckley, 26 U.S. 1 Pet. 136 136 (1828)Mandeville v. Holey & Suckley
26 U.S. (1 Pet.) 136
Syllabus
Under the law of Virginia, confession of judgment by the defendant, is a release of errors.
An action was instituted in the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia by the defendants in error against Richard Slade, James Anderson, and the plaintiff in error, trading under the firm of Richard Slade & Co., and the suit having abated as to Slade by his death and by return as to Anderson, it was prosecuted against Joseph Mandeville only.
The declaration contained the usual money counts, and the damages were laid at $10,500.
By consent of parties, an order was made by the court referring the accounts to the auditor of the court to state and report them to the court, this report to be subject to exceptions, and when the report should be settled, then the same to be substituted for a trial by jury and a judgment to be entered for the whole sum which should be finally ascertained by the court to be due.
The auditor reported a balance of �24,03l. 2s. 6d., of which �18,60l. 6s. 7d. was principal, to be due to the plaintiff below, which, with the exchange, amounted to $11,695.20, deducting the interest included in the balance reported by the auditor; the principal of the debt found to be due was less than the damages laid in the declaration.
No exceptions having been filed, Mandeville, the plaintiff in error, at a term subsequent to the report, came in and confessed a judgment for the sum reported, with interest from 7 December, 1824.
