Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R. v. Hitt

Citations

• 99 Miss. 679
• 55 So. 484

Syllabus

<p>1. Justice oe the Peace. Jurisdiction. Amount in controversy. Code 1906, § 2723.</p> <p>Under Code 1906, § 2723, providing that '“justices of the peace shall have jurisdiction of all actions for the recovery of debts or damages or personal property, where the principal of the debt, the amount of the demand, or the value of the property sought to be recovered, shall not exceed two hundred dollars,” where the plaintiff honestly believes and contends for the recovery of a sum above the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace, the circuit court has a right to enter tain jurisdiction because in such ease the amount demanded is the real amount in controversy between the parties and this fixes the jurisdiction.</p> <p>2. Same.</p> <p>But where there is no uncertainty as to how much the plaintiff seeks to recover, it can make no difference what amount is claimed in the declaration, if in truth, there is no real demand for a.sum sufficient to give the circuit court jurisdiction.</p>