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Civil Procedure Keyed to Spencer
Pennoyer v. Neff
Citation:
95 U.S. (5 Otto) 714 (1877)
ProfessorBrittany L. Raposa
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Mitchell was a lawyer who sued Neff for unpaid legal services. Mitchell lived in Oregon, and Neff lived in California at the time the suit was filed. The law required that defendants be served notice of the fact that they are being sued, so Mitchell provided “constructive notice” by publishing notice in an Oregon newspaper. Neff never responded to this notice or showed up to court, so the court filed a default judgment against him and in favor of Mitchell. After this case was decided, Neff bought land in Oregon. Pursuant to the successful court decision against Neff, Mitchell obtained a sheriff’s order to seize Neff’s land. Mitchell then sold the land at an auction, where Pennoyer purchased it. Neff discovered that his land had been seized and sold, and sued Pennoyer to get his land back.
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