Nickerson v. Rockwell

Citations

• 90 Ill. 460

Syllabus

<p>1. Justice of the peace—consolidation of causes of action, etc. The statutory provision (Rev. Stat. 1874, eh. 79, sec. 49,) requiring the consolidation of demands in suits before justices of the peace, has no application to cases where the demands, if consolidated, would exceed $200. All demands of a nature to be consolidated, and which, when consolidated, do not exceed the justice’s jurisdiction, must be brought forward in the one suit, or they will be barred.</p> <p>2. Consolidating causes of action—at common law. There is no rule of the common law which requires of a plaintiff who has several distinct demands, such as two or more promissory notes, against the same defendant, to consolidate the same in one suit,'—so, if suit be brought before a justice, and the several distinct demands, when consolidated, exceed the jurisdiction of the justice, the plaintiff is not bound to seek another court which would have jurisdiction of the aggregate amount of all the claims.</p> <p>3. Action-—splitting cause of. A plaintiff can not divide an entire demand or cause of action, and maintain several suits for its recovery; and a recovery for a part of the demand is a bar to the remainder, if due at the time of the institution of the suit. If suit is brought on a note payable in installments, it must be for all the installments due, or they will be barred.</p> <p>4. While the various items of an account constitute but one demand, and can not be divided so as to enable the plaintiif to maintain several actions in any court, this does not apply to the case of several promissory notes, which are separate and distinct demands; and a party suing on one of them before a justice of the peace is not required to bring in the others, unless, when consolidated, they do not exceed the justice’s jurisdiction.</p>