Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Bright

Citations

• 90 Va. 778
• 20 S.E. 146
• 1894 Va. LEXIS 66

Syllabus

<p>1. Constitution — Code, $1292. — That section providing that for every failure of a telegraph company to deliver or forward a dispatch as promptly as practicable, the company shall forfeit one hundred dollars to the person sending the dispatch, or to the person to whom it was addressed : held, not repugnant to the constitution of the United States. W. U. T. Co. v. Tyler, ante, p. 297.</p> <p>2. Circuit Courts — Motion to recover forfeits. — Said courts have no jurisdiction of motions to recover forfeits specified in $ 1292, as § 3211 authorizes the remedy by motion only in cases where plaintiff is entitled to recover money on action or a contract, and the proceeding to recover such forfeit is founded, not upon a contract, but upon a tort; i. e., a wrongful violation of a public duty. W. U. T. Co. v. Pettyjohn, 88 Va., 298.</p> <p>3. Idem — Special powers — Record—Dismissal.—Where a court acts under special powers, it has only the jurisdiction expressly delegated, and it must appear from the record that its acts are within its jurisdiction ; and the court will dismiss the case at any time when the fact is brought to its notice.</p>