Stegmaier v. Goeringer

Citations

• 218 Pa. 499
• 67 A. 782
• 1907 Pa. LEXIS 556

Syllabus

<p>Municipalities — Cities of the third class — Celebration of public event— Appropriation of moneys — Act of May 23, 1889, art. V; sec. 2, P. L. 277.</p> <p>While the councils of a city of the third class may vote money for the public celebration of an event of public interest connected with the history of the city, and may even direct that such money shall be paid to the treasurer of a committee of private citizens having the celebration in charge, such treasurer cannot demand that the city controller shall countersign warrants- for such appropriation, unless it appears that he had presented proper bills or vouchers showing for what purpose and in what manner the moneys had been expended.</p> <p>The remedy by mandamus is a strictly legal one, and the relator must establish a specific legal right as well as the want of a specific remedy in order to sustain such a proceeding.</p> <p>When a private relator seeks to compel by mandamus a public official to perform an alleged duty, the burden is on him to show that he has performed every prerequisite condition necessary to compel such action and that it has been refused by the public official. This is true whether the duty to be performed is ministerial or discretionary, for even if the duty is ministerial the private relator must show that he has placed himself in a position to legally demand the performance of the duty, and after making demand, it was refused, before he is in a position to ask the intervention of the court to compel the performance of the alleged duty.</p>