Dancel v. United Shoe Machinery Co.

Citations

• 120 F. 839
• 1903 U.S. App. LEXIS 5308

Syllabus

<p>1. Patents — Assignment—Action against Subsequent Assignee — Complaint.</p> <p>Where a complaint alleged an assignment of a patent by intestate to defendant’s assignor in consideration of such assignor’s agreement to pay intestate in each year, while the patent should remain in force, a certain annuity, and that defendant had succeeded to all the property of its assignor, including the patent, and had assuméd all its obligations, which it fulfilled during intestate’s life, but had since refused, but failed to allege any contract between intestate and defendant, it did not state a cause of action at law.</p> <p>2. Same — Bill in Equity.</p> <p>Such allegations were sufficient to entitle plaintiff to a decree in equity for the payment by defendant of the amount due.</p> <p>3. Same — Bill .in Equity — Demurrer—Statutes—Construction.</p> <p>Rev. St. § 954 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 696], providing that no declaration, etc., in civil causes in any court of the United States shall be quashed for any defect or want of form, except those which, in cases of demurrer, the party demurring specially sets down, together with his demurrer, as the cause thereof, and such court shall amend every such defect and want of form other than those which the party demurring so expresses, is not confined to civil cases at law, but extends to and includes suits in equity.</p> <p>4. Same.</p> <p>Under such section, where a complaint in an action removed from a state court was demurred to for want of facts, it could not be dismissed, because, when treated as a bill in equity, it did not contain the address, statement of citizenship, or proper prayer for relief, or because it was erroneously placed on the law docket; such objections being matters of form only.</p>