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Civil Procedure Keyed to Rowe
Pennoyer v. Neff
Citation:
95 U.S. 714 (1878)
ProfessorBrittany L. Raposa
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Mitchell, a lawyer in Oregon, sued Neff (Plaintiff), who lived in California, for unpaid legal services. The Oregon law required that defendants be served notice of process when they are 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 entered a default judgment in favor of Mitchell. After this case was decided, Neff bought land in Oregon. Mitchell obtained a sheriff’s order to seize Neff’s land, pursuant to the default judgment that had been entered against him. Mitchell then sold the land at an auction, where Pennoyer (Defendant) purchased it. Neff discovered that his land had been seized and sold, and sued Pennoyer to get it back.
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