Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. D'Alemberte

Citations

• 39 Fla. 25

Syllabus

<p>1. The office of a proviso is to restrain the enacting clause; to except something- which would otherwise be within it, or in some manner to modify it; and where it follows and restricts an enacting- clause genera] in its scope and language, it is to be construed strictly and limited to objects fairly within its terms.</p> <p>2. Where a telephone plant consists of separate wires and instruments for the use of subscribers, all connecting with each other by means of a call wire common to all at a central office, and the sum of the length of all its wires thus in use exceeds twenty-five miles, the company operating such plant is subject to a license tax of §100, under the 16th sub-division of section 8, Chap. 4010, acts of 1891, although the sum of the distances covered by the poles supporting its wires is less than twenty-five miles.</p> <p>■8. Where a word used in a statute has both a popular and a technical meaning, the court will give it effect according to its popular signification if it was so used by the Legislature, and other parts of the statute may be referred to in determining the sense in which it was used.</p> <p>4. Plaintifi’s right of recovery is confined to the cause of action alleged in his declaration. If he fails upon such grounds he can not be permitted to recover on any other not alleged.</p>