Raisig v. Graf

Citations

• 17 Pa. Super. 509
• 1901 Pa. Super. LEXIS 346

Syllabus

<p>Bes adjudieata — Prior judgment — Accounts.</p> <p>A judgment of a proper court, being a sentence or conclusion of law upon the facts contained within the record, puts an end to all further, litigation on account of the same matter, and becomes the law of the case, which cannot be changed or altered, even by the consent of the parties, and is not only binding upon them, but upon the court and juries ever afterwards, as long as it shall remain in force and unreversed.</p> <p>The rule extends to every question in the proceedings which was legally cognizable, and applies whenever a party has neglected the opportunity of trial, or has failed to present his cause or defense in whole or in part under the mistaken belief that the matter would remain open and could be made the subject of another proceeding.</p> <p>Where a suit involved a settlement of accounts, and an item of overpayment is disclosed by the defense, but the plaintiif does not allege surprise nor ask for a continuance, nor except to the submission of the case as presented to the jury by the trial judge, and does not move for a new trial, the judgment entered on a verdict for the defendant is r-es adjudieata as to every item in the account including the item of overpayment, and a subsequent action cannot be maintained by the plaintiff to recover the amount of such overpayment.</p>