Scranton City v. Peoples Coal Co.

Citations

• 274 Pa. 63
• 117 A. 673
• 1922 Pa. LEXIS 637

Syllabus

<p>Contempt — Money judgment — Act of May 19, 1897, P. L. 67-Bond — Appeals.</p> <p>1. Under section 15 of the Act of May 19,1897, P. L. 67, where, in contempt proceedings, a money judgment has been entered against a private corporation, an appeal therefrom will be quashed unless bail is entered in double the amount of the judgment and all costs accrued and likely to accrue.</p> <p>2. In contempt proceedings, the supervisory power of the appellate courts is limited to determining whether the court below has transcended its jurisdiction, and whether each essential fact, the finding of which was excepted to and is assigned for error, has any substantial evidence to support it, or can be fairly deduced from other proved facts.</p> <p>Equity — Injunction—Contempt.</p> <p>3. The parties affected by an injunction cannot escape all punishment upon the ground that it is uncertain in scope or meaning; this is a matter for the consideration of the court below in determining the extent and character of the punishment, and cannot generally be the basis of an appeal.</p> <p>4. A decree should be interpreted in the light of the purpose intended to be accomplished by it.</p> <p>Constitutional law — Excessive bail — Contempt proceedings.</p> <p>5. Article I, section 13, of the Constitution of this State, which provides that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishment inflicted,” relates only to criminal proceedings; but the principles embodied therein are applicable in all suits, civil as well as criminal.</p> <p>Attachment — Contempt.</p> <p>6. An attachment partakes of the nature of a civil remedy to enforce obedience to a decree of the court, and not merely to punish for a contempt.</p> <p>Corporation — Officers in contempt — Municipalities—Contempt— Order of court — Service—Notice—Punitive order — Order to make good.</p> <p>7. An order in a contempt proceeding is not punitive in its nature, and hence is not excessive, where it only r