People v. Thomas
Before: Haynes
Synopsis
Judgment—Validity—Judgment-roll.—A judgment is void upon its face only when that fact is made apparent hy an inspection of the judgment-roll.
Id.—Affidavit and Order for Publication.—The affidavit and order for publication of summons required by section 412 of the Code of Civil Procedure constitute no part of the judgment-roll, and their absence does not show the invalidity of the judgment in the light of the judgment-roll.
Id.—Affidavit of Publication of Summons by “Publisher”—Presumption.—The affidavit of publication of summons is part of the judgment-roll; but it is not insufficient merely because made by the “publisher” and not by the “printer or foreman or principal clerk” as required by the terms of section 415 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The “publisher” of the paper is presumed to be its “printer” in the absence of a showing to the contrary.
Id.—Vacation oe Judgment—Limitation oe Time.—A judgment void upon its face may be vacated at any time upon motion; and a judgment in fact void for want of jurisdiction over the person of the defendant, where its invalidity does not appear from the judgment-roll, may be vacated upon motion within a reasonable time after its entry, and at least within the time limited by section 473 of the Code of Oivil Procedure. What is the extreme limit of time allowed for such motion, not decided.
Id.—Equitable Remedy—Foreclosure oe Certificate oe Purchase oe State Lands—Rights oe Third Parties.—A judgment foreclosing a certificate of purchase of state lands should not be set aside on motion of a corporation, to whom the lands embraced in the certificate had been transferred prior to the commencement of the action, after the lapse of twelve years from the date of the judgment, during which time the conveyance to the corporation had not been recorded, nor the register of the state land office notified thereof, where it appears that five years previous to the motion the state had sold part of the lands to a third party, who had conveyed the same to persons in actual possession, under recorded deeds, who had expended a large sum upon the property without knowledge or notice of any claim of the corporation, and the fact is controverted as to whether the corporation had knowledge or notice of their possession and improvements; but, under these circumstances, the corporation should be left to its remedy by an equitable action.
Haynes, C.— Appeal from an order refusing a motion to set aside and vacate a judgment.
On October 12, 1880, the state commenced an action in the superior court of El Dorado county against the appellant, W. 0. Thomas, to foreclose a certificate of purchase of certain state lands, issued to him in 1875, and in which action judgment was rendered against said Thomas on the 27th of December, 1880.
Prior to the commencement of that action, Thomas conveyed the lands embraced in said certificate to the El Dorado Slate Company, a corporation, and on Sep[573]tember 21, 1892, said corporation served notice of a motion to set aside and vacate the said judgment upon the ground that the said judgment is void, the court never having acquired jurisdiction of the defendant. Attached to the notice, an affidavit was served, which contained a copy of all the entries made upon the register of actions of said court in said cause, in which record no mention was made of any affidavit for an order of publication of the summons, nor of any order made by the court for such publication, and it is alleged that no such affidavit or order was ever made or filed.
The affidavit further alleges that the defendant, Thomas, was, at the time of the commencement of the action, and for more than a year after the judgment was entered, a nonresident of this state.
It is also contended that the service of summons was made under section 3549 of the Political Code, whereas it should have been made under the Code of Civil Procedure.
A judgment, however, is void upon its face only when that fact is made apparent by an inspection of the judgment-roll (Hahn v. Kelly, 34 Cal. 404; Jacks v. Baldez, 97 Cal. 91), and as these objections do not appear upon the judgment-roll they do not show that it is void upon its face. The affidavit required by section 412 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and the order that the service be made by publication of the summons, if they had been made, constituted no part of the judgment-roll, and their absence, therefore, does not show the invalidity of the judgment when examined in the light of the judgment-roll alone. (In re Newman, 75 Cal. 220; 7 Am. St. Rep. 146.)
It is contended, however, that the affidavit showing the publication of the summons, which is part of the judgment-roll, is insufficient, as it was made by the “publisher” and not by “ the printer or the foreman or principal clerk ” as required by section 415 of the Code of Civil Procedure. We think this objection is not well taken. In Sharp v. Daugney, 33 Cal. 513, it is said:
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