Barnett v. Cain

Citations

• 51 Pa. Super. 642
• 1912 Pa. Super. LEXIS 274

Syllabus

<p>Justice of the peace — Illegal fees — Action against justice — Notice—Reference to wrong act of assembly — Acts of March 21, 1772, 1 Sm. L. ■864, March 28,1814, 6 Sm. L. 228, and May 26,1897, P. L. 100.</p> <p>1. The penalty imposed upon a justice of the peace by the Act of March 28, 1814, 6 Sm. L. 228, is not for taking illegal fees generally, but for taking fees illegal under that act. Neither the Act of April 2, 1868, P. L. 3, nor the Act of May 23,1893, P. L. 117, prescribe penalties for taking illegal fees, and it was not until the passage of the Act of May 26, 1897, P. L. 100, that this omission in the fee bills of 1868 and 1893, was remedied.</p> <p>2. Where a notice is given to a justice of the peace elected prior to April 23, 1909, of an intention to bring an action to recover penalties for demanding and receiving illegal fees, and it is stated in the notice that the penalties were such as were provided by the Act of March 28, 1814, and the plaintiff in his declaration bases his claim, upon the penalty imposed by the Act of March 28, 1814, and thereafter and before trial he amends his declaration by leave of court, by striking out the words “March 28, 1814,” and substituting the words “May 26, 1897, P. L. 100,” and this is done after the six months’ limitation prescribed by the Act of March 21, 1772, 1 Sm. L. 364, a judgment on a verdict in favor of the plaintiff subsequently entered, cannot be sustained.</p>