Davis v. Patterson

Citations

• 12 Pa. Super. 479
• 1900 Pa. Super. LEXIS 266

Syllabus

<p>Jurisdiction, equity — Mandamus—Public officers.</p> <p>The courts have no jurisdiction to compel by mandamus a public officer to do any act which the law does not impose upon that officer a duty to perform ; or to discharge the function of his office in a manner not authorized by law; or to do anything which the law does not expressly or by implication require him as an officer to do. The court cannot impose duties upon public officers; the function of the writ of mandamus is to enforce duties imposed by law.</p> <p>County treasurers — Conditional receipt of money.</p> <p>A county treasurer cannot be compelled to receive money of which he is not made the official custodian, nor to hold money, which he does receive, subject to any condition not imposed upon that fund by statute.</p> <p>Pleading, equity — Bill, answer and replication.</p> <p>There are still some rules of pleadings which must be observed.</p> <p>Where a case is heard upon petition, answer and demurrer, the petition is the foundation of the whole proceeding and must set forth the act or duty, the performance of which it seeks to compel; the ground on which a peremptory mandamus is sought cannot be shifted in the demurrer to the answer to cover an entirely different purpose.</p> <p>Liquor law — Payment of excessive license fee not recoverable under mandamus proceedings.</p> <p>The payment of a license fee in excess of the amount alleged by the licensee to be due cannot be recovered under proceedings by way of alternative mandamus, even when the payment of the full amount of the fee was made under an order of the court, providing that the sum in dispute should be refunded if the case be disposed of in favor of the plaintiff. The court may not impose upon the county treasurer the duty of receiving and holding a disputed license fee pending litigation. The licensee had his remedy to proceed with his alternative mandamus or to secure the immediate issuance of his license by the payment of the entire amou