M'Closkey v. M'Connell
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
ERROR to the common pleas of Westmoreland county. Elizabeth M’Connell against James M’Closkey and William Boreland. Appeal by plaintiff from the judgment of a justice, who thus stated the cause of action: « Summons, trespass for taking and leading away one sorrel colt, tile property of the plaintiff, not exceeding one hundred dollars.”
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ERROR to the common pleas of Westmoreland county. Elizabeth M’Connell against James M’Closkey and William Boreland. Appeal by plaintiff from the judgment of a justice, who thus stated the cause of action: « Summons, trespass for taking and leading away one sorrel colt, tile property of the plaintiff, not exceeding one hundred dollars.” The case was referred, and the referees awarded for the defendants, upon which the justice entered judgment, and from which the plaintiff appealed. A motion was made to set aside the appeal, on the ground that the award was for less than twenty dollars; but the…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
Gibson, C. J.
The acts which give civil jurisdiction to justices of the peace are so unusually defective, that we are perpetually compelled to interpret them with extreme liberality, in order to prevent their principles from being frustrated by the inadequacy of their details. These principles, instéad of being defined by an outline, and left to the courts to fill it up in their application of them to particular cases, have been minutely adapted to models which *18the framers had in view, as the only ones of the sort which it was supposed the transactions…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Bazire v. BarrySupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1817
3Cited by3 opinions
- Lane v. KolbSupreme Court of Alabama · 1890
- Cook v. DunkleSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1855
- Wanamaker v. Beamesderfer, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County1923