Nathan Clifford

“ Difficulty would attend any attempt to prescribe a rule which will apply in all cases; but it is safe to affirm that equity may exercise jurisdiction in such a case, where the evidence clearly shows that it would be against conscience to execute the judgment, because the injured party had a just defence of which he could not avail himself in the suit at law, or of which he might have availed himself at law, but was prevented from so doing by fraud or unavoidable accident, unmixed with any fault or negligence in himself or his agents. ”

“ Frequent applications to enjoin judgments were made in equity, before the practice of awarding new trials was introduced into the courts of common law. Until the practice of granting new trials in courts of law was introduced, every reason existed why equitable relief should be afforded; but as the courts of law now exercise that power very liberally, especially in case of fraud or unavoidable accident, a resort to equity is seldom necessary or successful. ”

“ Nothing appears to show any irregularity in the trial; and neither party filed any exceptions to the charge of the court, or to any ruling of the court, in re using to instruct the jury as requested.
Viewed in the light of these suggestions, it is clear that the record furnishes no ground whatever to suppose that the defendant did not enjoy every right which belongs to a litigant party, without diminution or restriction. Where no exceptions are taken during the trial, the presumption must be that the rulings of the court were correct ”