Murphy v. Thall

Citations

• 17 Pa. Super. 500
• 1901 Pa. Super. LEXIS 344

Syllabus

<p>Justice of the peace — Jurisdiction—Contract—Tort—Form of action — Injury to horse.</p> <p>The “ causes of action arising from contract, either express or implied,” which are within the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace, are those which arise from an agreement or understanding immediately between the parties, and do not have their foundation in the compact of government, to which every member of society is supposed to be a party. It is not the form of the action but the nature of the subject-matter of it which must decide the question of jurisdiction. The right to maintain an action of debt or assumpsit may arise ex maleficio, where there is not the semblance of a contract, as in oases of official misfeasance or of penalties imposed by statute, but the form of the action does not change the essence of its cause, and what was tort before does not become a breach of contract.</p> <p>When the action springs simply from tort, and is not dependent upon any contract relation or course of dealing between the parties, and the injury is consequential it lies not within the statutory jurisdiction of a justice of the peace. When the plaintiff’s claim is founded upon a contract, other than those specifically excepted by the statute, and does not exceed the amount limited, it is within the jurisdiction of a justice of thepeace; whether the action be in assumpsit or in case for a breach of duty imposed by the contract.</p> <p>Whore a horse has been loaned on a gratuitous bailment, and on a promise that good care should be taken of it, and the horse is returned in a.n injured condition, the owner may maintain an action of trespass before a justice of the peace to recover damages for the injury.</p>