Ballingall v. Kite

Citations

• 41 Pa. Super. 428
• 1909 Pa. Super. LEXIS 79

Syllabus

<p>Justice of the. peace — Philadelphia magistrate — Jurisdiction— Amount — Interest—Relinquishment of interest.</p> <p>1. Where the record of a magistrate in Philadelphia county shows that the magistrate granted judgment for $100 with interest and costs, without specifying the amount of interest, and that this was done in the presence of the plaintiff and without any relinquishment of interest by the plaintiff, and subsequently the case is appealed and the court of common pleas on a rule to dismiss, and after depositions taken, finds as a fact that the plaintiff demanded before the magistrate an amount in excess .of the latter’s jurisdiction, the Superior Court on an appeal from an order dismissing the proceedings will not reverse the finding of the lower court, and will sustain the order made by it.</p> <p>2. The rule that a plaintiff in a suit before a justice of the peace cannot make a demand of less than the sum due him, in order to give the magistrate jurisdiction, does not apply to interest, as the plaintiff may relinquish that as it is no part of the cause of action to be litigated; but if he does not relinquish it, and permits the magistrate to enter judgment in his presence for principal and interest, bringing the aggregate amount above the magistrate’s jurisdiction, he will not be able to sustain the .proceedings when removed to the common pleas on appeal. The relinquishment of interest cannot be made for the first time in the , common pleas.</p>