Burnet v. Desmornes Y Alvarez
Citations
- 226 U.S. 145
- 33 S. Ct. 63
- 57 L. Ed. 159
- 1912 U.S. LEXIS 2138
Syllabus
<p>Whether prescription goes only to the remedy or extinguishes the right, it affects the jurisdiction no more than any other defense.</p> <p>The judgment of a court that a right is established cannot be impeached collaterally by proof that the judgment was wrong.</p> <p>The provisions of Article 137 of the Civil Code of Porto Rico of 1889 and of §199 of the act of March 1, 1902, of Porto Rico, requiring actions to claim filiation to be commenced within prescribed periods, do not deprive the court of jurisdiction in case the action is not brought until after the prescribed period. It is a defense that must be pleaded.</p> <p>This court will be slow to control the discretion of the Supreme Court of Porto Rico as to a matter wholly within its power — such as sending a case back to the lower court for further opportunity to cross-examine.</p>
How courts have described this case
Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.
- explaining that whether “conditions precedent” for suit have been met is not the same thing as whether general jurisdiction exists and that “[wjhen a court has general jurisdiction . . . [ijts judgment . . . cannot be impeached collaterally by proof that the judgment was wrong.”
Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).
Judges: Holmes
Read full opinion on CourtListenerSourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).
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