County of Sullivan v. Middendorf

Citations

• 7 Pa. Super. 71
• 1898 Pa. Super. LEXIS 235

Syllabus

<p>Practice, C. P. — Pleading—Cause of action limited by declaration.</p> <p>A judgment for the plaintiff is based on the right of action set forth in the declaration and cannot be extended beyond it; if the declaration lacks the essentials of a cause of action, in matters of substance, judgment for want of a sufficient affidavit of defense will be reversed; and such defect will be fatal also in arrest of judgment or on error.</p> <p>Public officers — Tax collector — Limit of liability of surety — Statutes.</p> <p>A tax collector elected for three years under the Act of June 6, 1898, P. L. 383, must renew his bond annually. The statement alleged an election on April 1, 1894, and declared on a bond given in 1894, conditioned that the collector “ shall well and truly collect and pay over according to law the whole amount of taxes charged and assessed in the duplicate which shall be delivered to him; ” it also assigned failure to account for certain taxes charged in the duplicates for 1894, and also other taxes charged in the duplicates for 1895. Held, reversing the court below, that judgment could only be entered for 1894 taxes. The liability on the bond is limited to the taxes for the current year.</p>