Caruthers v. Harnett

Citations

• 67 Tex. 127
• 2 S.W. 523
• 1886 Tex. LEXIS 626

Syllabus

<p>1. Public Officer—Injunction.—It is not only the right but the duty of a public Officer to protect the books, records and papers of his office, and for this purpose, when necessary, he may seek the interposition oí a court of equity by injunction.</p> <p>'2. Injunction.—The district court has power to restrain the illegal expenpenditure of the funds of a county, the registration of the illegal bonds of a county, and the illegal issue and delivery of the bonds of a county which on their face evidence a county indebtedness.</p> <p>3. Injunction Against Public Officer.—He who seeks to restrain improper or unlawful conduct on the part of a public officer must set forth facts showing that he has such an interest in the public welfare as to make him a proper party to prevent the commission of a public wrong. An allegation that the party seeking such restraint by injunction is a resident of the county and tax payer is generally sufficient to show such interest, but the writ can not properly issue unless it be*alleged that the plaintiff’s right will be greatly and irreparable injured by the acts of the officer who he seeks to restrain.</p> <p>4. Injunction.—An action by injunction in which a mandatory writ is asked to compel a public officer to transfer the public records to a place claimed by the petitioner to be the county seat, can not be maintained at the suit of a private:citizen, because he has no such interest in the question as entitles him to have it adjudicated; following Walker v. Tar-rant County, 20 Texas, 20; Harrell v. Lynch, 65 Texas, 146, and Ex parte Towles, 48 Texas, 414.</p> <p>•5. Jurisdiction—County Seat.—A district court has no power to try cases of contested election for county seats, and a court of equity will not try and determine such a question on an application for injunction in cases involving the right to an office.</p> <p>•6. Same.—If, however, the action has its basis in the assertion of a right involving pecuniary interest, not originatin