Case Name: George Caldwell v. John Grundy
Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Kentucky
Decision Date: 1803-04-27
Citations: 1 Sneed 224
Docket Number: 
Parties: George Caldwell v. John Grundy.
Judges: 
Reporter: Kentucky Reports
Volume: 2
Pages: 224–225

Head Matter:
APRIL 27, 1803.
George Caldwell v. John Grundy.
Upon a writ of error to reverse a judgment of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Washington county.
A defendant can not plead as a set off a judgment obtained by him or his assignor against the plaintiff, after the plaintiff had commenced his action. Such a judgment was not a subsisting debt at the time the action was brought.

Opinion:
It will be necessary only to determine whether the debt plead' by way of set off, was a mutual debt subsisting at the time this suit was brought, in order to ascertain which dates are material. This suit was commenced on the 5th day of August, 1800, the judgment (part of which the defendant pleads by way of set off) was not obtained until October in the same year: after this judgment was obtained, part of it was assigned to the defendant, but at what time is not stated, and in January, 1801, the plea was filed. If these dates are correct, it is evident there was no debt due and subsisting from the plaintiff or his assignor to the defendant at the time this suit was commenced, and therefore this debt was not pleadable as a set off, without observing upon other objections which might be made to it. The judgment of the inferior court must be reversed with costs, the cause to be remanded to the Washington circuit court, with directions to enter a judgment for the plaintiff on the demurrer, which is ordered to be certified to the said court.