City of San Francisco v. Pixley

Field, C. J. delivered the opinion of the Court Cope, J. and Norton, J. concurring.

This is a suit on the equity side of the Court to set aside a salé of certain real property, made under execution issued upon a judgment against the city of San Francisco. The facts of the case, so far as they are material for the determination of the appeal, are as follows: In January, 1856, James Haslett recovered a judgment in the late Superior Court against the city of San Francisco for about $1,020. Upon this judgment the sum of five hundred and twenty-five dollars ivas collected and credited. Afterwards the judgment was assigned by Haslett to the defendant McMinn, and by McMinn to the defendant Reese. Upon the abolition of the Superior Court, the record and judgment were, by operation of law, transferred to the District Court; and subsequently, by order of that Court, the judgment was revived against the existing corporation—the City and County of San Francisco—as the successors of the former municipal corporation. ' Some question is made as to the efficacy of the proceedings for the revival of the judgment, which we do not consider important to notice. In December, 1857, execution was issued for the balance due upon the judgment, and several tracts of land were sold thereunder by the Sheriff. One of them is bounded, according to the official map of the city and county, as follows: “ On the west by Folsom Street; on the north by the south side of Tracy Street extended eastwardly to the eastern front of the city of San Francisco as fixed by the Legislature of 1851; on the east by ships channel in the bay of San Francisco; and on the south by the north line of Corbett Street extended eastwardly to ships [58]channel in the bay.” This tract was bid off by the defendant Pixley, for the sum of three hundred and sixty dollars. In malting the bid, Pixley acted simply as the attorney of one Pearson, and by direction of Pearson he assigned the certificate of sale received from the Sheriff to one Wheeler, a clerk in the office of Pearson. It is unnecessary to allude to the other tracts sold, as from the decision of the District Court setting the sale aside Pixley and Wheeler alone appeal, go far as Pixley is concerned, the appeal is not seriously prosecuted; nor, indeed, could he be allowed to urge any objections to the decree, for he disclaims in his answer all interest in the subject matter of the suit, and the decree does not charge him with costs. The appeal must be considered, therefore, as prosecuted by Wheeler alone, and must be determined upon the regularity and validity of the sale of the tract described.