McGeary v. Mellor
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Error to the Court of Common Pleas, No. 1, of Allegheny county: Of October and November Term, 1878, No. 36. Replevin by Mellor & Iloene, for use of C. C. Mellor, against Henry McGeary, for an organ which the plaintiffs had leased to Mrs. Thompson, and which had been distrained upon and sold for rent, and purchased by the defendant McGeary, the landlord of Mrs. Thompson.
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Error to the Court of Common Pleas, No. 1, of Allegheny county: Of October and November Term, 1878, No. 36. Replevin by Mellor & Iloene, for use of C. C. Mellor, against Henry McGeary, for an organ which the plaintiffs had leased to Mrs. Thompson, and which had been distrained upon and sold for rent, and purchased by the defendant McGeary, the landlord of Mrs. Thompson. It was claimed by the plaintiffs that the piano was exempt from distress and sale by reason of the Act of May 13th 1876, Pamph. L. 171, which provides: sec. 1, “ Be it enacted, &c., that hereafter all pianos, melodeons and…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Gordon
delivered the opinion of the.court,
The Act of May 13th 1876 was passed in favor of a special class of dealers and was intended to exempt certain of their wares from the common-law right of distress. By this act, as to the articles therein described, the landlord is deprived of a right and power which, before the passage of said act, he possessed. It follows, that this act, being in derogation of the common law, must receive a strict construction. In other words, the dealer’s right to have his property exempted ought not to be extended beyond the plain intent of the legislature, as indicated…
2Cited by4 opinions
- Derbyshire Bros. v. McManamySuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1930
- American Soda Fountain Co. v. StengerSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1912
- F. A. North Co. v. SeigelSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1929
- Rohrer v. CunninghamSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1890