Cothran v. Weir
Supreme Court of Alabama
Error to the County Court of Cherokee. THIS action was commenced before a justice of the peace' by the defendant in error against the plaintiffs in error. The justice rendered judgment for the defendants below, from which the plaintiff appealed to the County Court of Cherokee.
Read the full summary
Error to the County Court of Cherokee. THIS action was commenced before a justice of the peace' by the defendant in error against the plaintiffs in error. The justice rendered judgment for the defendants below, from which the plaintiff appealed to the County Court of Cherokee. In that Court the plaintiff filed his statement, setting forth a special contract, on which he alledged there was due to him forty-nine dollars and fifty-seven cents; also, for work and labor, money paid at their request, &c. and laid his damage at one hundred dollars. The defendants pleaded non assumpsit, and the jury…
1Opinion of the CourtOrmond, J.
It is supposed that the justice of the peace had no jurisdiction in this case, because the damages arc laid in the County Court at one hundred dollars. It is the amount of the recovery, and not the sum claimed, which settles the question of jurisdiction. But the amount claimed, both before the justice and in the County Court, was less than fifty dollars, and the actual recovery is twenty dollars. The assertion of damages in the declaration, is mere matter of form, and cannot be looked to, to ascertain whether the Court have jurisdiotion or not.
Let the judgment be affirmed.
2Cited by6 opinions
- Glaze v. BlakeSupreme Court of Alabama · 1876
- Crabtree v. CliattSupreme Court of Alabama · 1853
- Hart v. TurkSupreme Court of Alabama · 1849
- Carter v. AlfordSupreme Court of Alabama · 1879
- Rose v. ThompsonSupreme Court of Alabama · 1850
1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.