CLASSIFICATION. Judgments in civil caus es, considered with respect to the method of obtaining them, may be thus classified.
I. When the result is obtained by the trial of an issue of fact. In this case the trial may involve questions both of law and fact, but the law is applied incidentally to the trial of the disputed facts, as in the ad mission or rejection of evidence, the con duct of the trial, and the instruction of the jury or, it may be, in the determination of the question whether the evidence is suffi cient either in quality or quantity to be submitted to the jury. In these cases the law is admitted or applied to facts .found by a jury or the court.
Judgments upon facts found are the fol lowing: Judgment of will tiel record (q. v.) occurs when some pleading denies the ex istence of a record, and issue is joined there on ; the record being produced is compared by the eourt with the statement in the plead ing which alleges it ; and if they correspond, the party asserting its existence obtains judgment; if they do not correspond, the other party obtains judgment of nul tiel record.
(2) Judgment upon verdict (q. v.) is the most usual of the judgments upon facts found, and is for the party obtaining the verdict.
(3) Judgment non obstante veredicto is a judgment rendered in favor of the plaintiff notwithstanding the verdict for the defend ant; this judgment is given upon motion (which can only be made by the plaintiff) when, upon an examination of the whole proceedings, it appears to the court that the defendant has shown himself to be in the wrong, and that the issue, though de cided in his favor by the jury, is on a point which does not at all better his case; Smith, Act. 161. 'This is sometimes called a judg ment upon confession, because it occurs after a pleading by defendant in confession and avoidance and issue joined thereon, and ver dict found for defendant, and then it appears that the pleading was bad in law and might have been demurred to on that ground. The plea being substantially bad in law, of course the verdict which merely shows it to be true in point of fact, cannot avail to entitle the defendant to judgment; while, on the other hand, the plea being in confession and avoidance involves a confession of the plain tiff's declaration, and shows that he was en titled to maintain his action. Sometimes it
may be expedient for the plaintiff to move for judgment non obstante veredicto, even though the verdict be in his favor ; for, in a case like that described above, if he takes judgment as upon the verdict it seems that such judgment would be erroneous, and that the only safe course is to take it as upon confession; Cro. Eliz. 778; 2 Rolle, Abr. 99. See, also, Cro. Eliz. 214; Rastell, Ent. 622; Pemberton v. Van Rensselaer, 1 Wend. (N. Y.) 307. See NON OBSTANTE VEREDICTO.
(4) A judgment of repleader is given when issue is joined on an immaterial point, or one on which the court cannot give a judg ment which will determine the right. On the award of a repleader, the parties must recommence their pleadings at the point where the immaterial issue originated. See REPLEADER. This judgment is interlocutory, quod partes replacitent. See Bacon, Abr. Pleas, 4 (M) ; Coleson v. Blanton, 3 Hayw. (Tenn.) 159.
2. When the facts are admitted by the parties, leaving only issues of law to be de termined, which are as follows : (1) Judgment upon a demurrer against the party demurring concludes him, because by demurring, a party admits the facts al leged in the pleadings of his adversary, and relies on their insufficiency in law. See DEMURRER.
(2) It sometimes happens that though the adverse parties are agreed as to the facts, and only differ as to the law arising out of them, still these facts dO not so clearly ap pear on the pleadings as to enable them to obtain the opinion of the court by way of demurrer; for on demurrer the court can look at nothing whatever except the plead ings. In such circumstances the statute 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 42, § 25, which has been imitated in most of the states, allows them after issue joined, and on obtaining the consent of a single judge, to state the facts in a special case for the opinion of the court, and agree that a judgment shall be entered for the plaintiff or defendant by confession or nolle prosequi immediately after the deci sion of the case; and judgment is entered accordingly, called judgment on a case stated.