Clark v. Sawyer

WALLACE, J. — The appellant (who claims under a deed executed by Bryant to Reuben Clark in 1853), having established, by proof, a legal title to the premises in the adverse possession of the respondents, the latter attempted to show in themselves an older deraignment from the same source of title.

In order to do this, they put in evidence the records of two judgments rendered in San Francisco, in the court of first instance, one in March, the other in April, 1850, in favor of Starkey, Janion & Co., and against Bryant.

They then proved that upon these judgments writs of fieri facias came to the hands of Sublett, the sheriff of the then district of San Francisco, and were levied by him upon the premises before the fifteenth day of April, 1850, at which time the court of first instance, and its officers, became superseded by the organization of the state government.

It appeared that the record of the Starkey, Janion judgments came into the lawful possession of the district court of the fourth judicial district before the nineteenth day of April, 1850, and on that day that tribunal,-on motion of the attorney of Starkey, Janion & Co., made and entered an order in the following words:

“Starkey, Janion & Co. v.

J. J. Bryant.

“Now at this day the court orders the sheriff to proceed to sell the property levied on under execution previously issued.

“LEVI PARSONS, “District Judge.

“April 19th, 1850.”

Upon the entry of this order a copy thereof duly certified was delivered to John C. Hays, who was the newly elected and qualified sheriff of the county of San Francisco. There were, also, placed in the hands of Hays two writs of venditioni exponas, issued upon and in furtherance of this order, [575]and he, thereupon, received from Sublett the two unsatisfied writs of fieri facias, originally issued to the latter, as district sheriff, from the court of first instance, and which he had already levied upon the premises in controversy.

Iiays had no other process than the foregoing, and, acting under it, he, as sheriff of the county of San Francisco on the -day of May, 1850, sold the premises to the respondents or their grantors, who, having purchased at the sale, received sheriff’s deeds for the premises.