Mayor of Wilmington v. Addicks

Citations

• 7 Del. Ch. 56

Syllabus

<p>Injunction; Parties; Demurrer.</p> <p>1. It is a well-established and undoubted rule in equity proceedings, that all persons materially interested, should be parties to the suit, either as complainants or defendants, in order that the court may determine the rights of all parties Interested in the subject-matter of the suit, and make a complete decree.</p> <p>2. It is undoubtedly true that whenever a want of proper parties appeal's on the face of a bill, the proper mode-to take advantage of this objection is by a demurrer.</p> <p>3. A statement in the bill of the existence of a party, coupled with an express denial of the existence, is not a fatal ¡admission on a demurrer for want of parties. If de- • fendants rely upon such actual existence, a different mode of pleading must be adopted.</p> <p>4. A demurrer to a bill admits to be true all the facts as therein set forth.</p> <p>5. The mayor and council of Wilmington, at the instance-of the individual members of the board of directors of the street and sewer department of said city, filed a bill to enjoin certain individuals from opening the streets of said city, to lay gas pipes, without the previous consent of said board. Defendants demurred on the ground that the bill alleged that said defendants were acting as officers and agents of the Oxy-Hydrogen Company, of this State, and that, therefore, said company should have been made a party defendant. Held, that the demurrer must be overruled, for the reason that the bill only stated that individual defendants claimed to act as such officers and agents and expressly denied the actual existence of said company; and that the demurrer, admitting all the facts in the bill, admitted the truth of such express denial of the actual existence of such company; that if the defendants relied upon such actual existence, they should have adopted some other mode of pleading.</p>