Case Name: President and Directors of the Bank of Pennsylvania, assignees of the Sheriff against John Lassel and Stephen Beasely
Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1798-12
Citations: 2 Yeates 387
Docket Number: 
Parties: President and Directors of the Bank of Pennsylvania, assignees of the Sheriff against John Lassel and Stephen Beasely.
Judges: Shippen and Smith Justices refused to take any part in the decision, being stockholders of the bank of Pennsylvania.
Reporter: Reports of cases adjudged in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (Yeates)
Volume: 2
Pages: 387–388

Head Matter:
President and Directors of the Bank of Pennsylvania, assignees of the Sheriff against John Lassel and Stephen Beasely.
Hail bond forfeited, shall not stand as a security, whore tho plaintiff can be put in as good a condition, as if he had never been delayed.
Summons debt 4500 dollars, returnable this term. A capias had issued against the principal to the last March term, on Avhich the sheriff returned a bail bond; which from some circumstances had not been sued to the last September term.
Messrs. E. Tilghman and Du Ponceau,
in behalf of the bail now moved that the proceedings on the bail bond should be stayed, on payment of the costs of that suit, and entry of special, bail instanter. This offer had been made, as they asserted, to the plaintiff’s attorney, six days before the term commenced. They also agreed, if special bail was permitted to be entered, that judgment should be entered in the original suit, and a ca. sa. might issue to the last return day, in order to found a scire facias against the special bail to next March term. The principal had no lands which would be subjected to lien, by an earlier judgment, and the plaintiffs would receive no injury or delay, by granting the motion.
Mr. Ingersoll for the plaintiffs,
agreed, that the offers stated by the adverse counsel, had been made ; but insisted that the bail was not now relievable. The general rule of practice is, that proceedings on the bail bond will not be stayed, where any injury is done thereby to the plaintiff. 5 Term Rep. 535. Or where the plaintiff has lost a trial. Tidd’s Pract. 146. The court will not relieve the bail, even on the death of the principal, where the plaintiff might have had judgment against him, if the bail had been put in and perfected in due time. Ib. 157. Cowp. 71. 1 Barnes, 48. Heath v. Astley. Ib. 63. Willoughby v. Rhodes. Here the debt being undisputed, judgment would have been entered by the course of the court, at last term, with the usual cesset of sixty days.

Opinion:
Per M'Kean, C. J. and Yeates, J.
The general rule here, as in England, is never to make a bail bond stand as a security, where the plaintiff can be put in as good a condition, as if he had never been delayed. Cowp. 71. The raging of the yellow fever at the last term, induced the court to direct, that on judgments then entered, the eessets should be prolonged from sixty days to the first day of the present term. Consequently no execution could have issued earlier than this term, if the bail had been duly entered. The defendant possessed no lands which might have been bound by a judgment at the last September term. And the counsel's argument as to the issuing of the ca. sa. returnable during the term removes all difficulty.
Motion granted.
Shippen and Smith Justices refused to take any part in the decision, being stockholders of the bank of Pennsylvania.