Case Name: AMERICAN FUNDING CORP. v. EDWARDS
Court: Supreme Court of South Carolina
Jurisdiction: South Carolina
Decision Date: 1917-02-09
Citations: 106 S.C. 326
Docket Number: 9596
Parties: AMERICAN FUNDING CORP. v. EDWARDS.
Judges: 
Reporter: South Carolina Reports
Volume: 106
Pages: 326–328

Head Matter:
9596
AMERICAN FUNDING CORP. v. EDWARDS.
(91 S. E. 315.)
Judgment—Defects—Vacation.—Where in an action in the Court of Common Pleas, the summons and complaint by inadvertence bore the name, civil and criminal Court, a default judgment based on such summons and complaint will not, more than two years after its rendition, be yacated on account of the mistake, it appearing that no injury was done to defendant, who called on plaintiff’s counsel shortly after entry of the judgment and endeavored to make arrangement to pay it without any question as to its validity, but the record will be corrected by striking out the name of the civil and cripiinal Court and inserting the name of the Court of Common Pleas.
Before Hon. Edward McIver, special Judge, Charleston, April, 1916.
Affirmed.
Action by the American Funding Corporation against M. M. Edwards, against whom default judgment was ren dered. From an order denying two motions of defendant, he appeals.
These motions were heard together by Judge Mclver, and the motion of plaintiff was granted and the motion of defendant refused in the following order:
This matter comes up on two motions; one by the plaintiff to amend the record of this Court to correct an error in the judgment roll of the judgment herein entered in October, 1913, by striking out of the summons and complaint the name of the civil and criminal Court and inserting in lieu thereof the name of the Court of Common Pleas; the other by the defendant for an order abandoning, vacating and setting aside the same judgment. I am satisfied from the evidence submitted to me that the judgment was duly and properly rendered, and that the error complained of .was inadvertent, and did not affect thq jurisdiction of this Court at the time- it was rendered. No injury is shown to have been done to the deféndant, who called on plaintiff’s counsel shortly after ' the judgment was entered and endeavored to make arrangements to pay the judgment without making any question as to its validity. The motion of the defendant appears to. be a belated effort after the lapse of over two years to take advantage of an inadvertent error, and no sufficient showing has been made which would justify the Court in granting this motion.
It is therefore ordered that the clerk of this Court correct and amend the record of the judgment and the judgment roll herein by striking'out in the summons and complaint the name of the civil and criminal Court and inserting in lieu thereof the name of the Court of Common Pleas, so that the same may conform with the facts.
It is further ordered that the motion of the defendant for an order abandoning, vacating and setting aside the order for judgment by default and the subsequent execution thereon be, and the same is hereby, refused.
Mr. Edwin J. Blank, for appellant,
submits: Appeal to Circuit Court should be heard on original papers: Code Civ. Proc., sec. 406. Action should have been dismissed for want of prosecution: Code Civ. Proc., sec. 454. Judicial notice: 84 S. C. 351, 352. Complaint fatally defective: 17 S. C. 448; 15 S. C. 44; 51 S. C. 498; 65 S. C. 132; 89 S. C. 487; 92 S C. 373. Surprise: 51 S. C. 405, 410. Jurisdictional defects apparent on record: 90 S. C. 552. Limitation of time for motion to vacate judgment: 17 S. C. 452; 48 S. C. 566; 84 S. C. 141.
Messrs. Whaley, Barnwell & Grimball, for respondent.
February 9, 1917.

Opinion:
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
Mr. Justice Watts.
This is an appeal from an order made by Hon. Edward Mclver, special Judge, in two motions heard by him. For the reasons stated by the Circuit Judge, it is the judgment of this Court that the judgment of the Circuit Court be affirmed, and that upon the payment by the defendant of either of the judgments, both judgments be satisfied."