Presbyterian Church v. Philadelphia, Bristol & Trenton Street Railway Co.

Citations

• 217 Pa. 399
• 66 A. 652
• 1907 Pa. LEXIS 723

Syllabus

<p>Change of venue — Local prejudice — Intensity of prejudice — ■Question for judge.</p> <p>An application for a change of venue under paragraph five of section one of the Act of March 30, 1875, P. L. 35, on the ground that “a large number of inhabitants of the county in which the cause is pending have an interest in the question involved therein, adverse to the applicant ” raises a question of fact for the decision of the judge.</p> <p>What is a large number of inhabitants is a relative question depending on the circumstances. A few hundred might be a large number in some communities while as many thousand might not be in others. So in regard to the interest which is averred to be adverse to the petitioner in the application. Its intensity, its particular or general character, its diffusion throughout the county or confinement to one or more localities, are all elements bearing on its reaching the requirements of the statute. All of them, both as to number and interest, are addressed to the judicial discretion of the judge.</p>