Ball v. Biggam
Ball v. Biggam
Opinion of the Court
There are but two questions in this case. The justness of the cause of action does not seem to be seriously disputed, but the Statute of Limitations is relied upon as a defense. The plaintiff relied upon section 23 of the Code to save him from the bar of the statute. He had brought an action before a justice of the peace for the same claim, and obtained
There was an action commenced, there was a judgment rendered, and that judgment was reversed at the instance of the plaintiff in error in this case ; this brings the case strictly within the very terms of the
The case is also within the second provision of section 23. The action failed otherwise than upon its merits. It was dismissed. See Seaton v. Hixon, 35 Kan. 663; Hall v. Hurd, 40 id. 374. It was contended in the latter case that because there was no cause of action at the time the first action was begun, there was no action — no case. It will not do to say there was no case in the court, no action begun, no judgment, simply because the court of last resort held that there was no jurisdiction. Giving to the statute that construction to which it is entitled, it seems clear that the case comes within the provision of section 23, and that the pendency of that suit, even though the court had no jurisdiction of the cause of action, tolled the Statute of Limitations and brought it within the saving clause.
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- H. E. Ball v. David Biggam and John S. Doolittle, Partners
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Statute oe Limitations — not a bar where case reversed and dismissed for want of jurisdiction in lower court. In an action upon a contract, brought before a justice of the peace, in which the plaintiff recovers a judgment, and an appeal is taken to the district court where the plaintiff again recovers judgment, and a proceeding in error is prosecuted to the Supreme Court and the judgment reversed upon the ground that neither the justice of the peace nor the district court had jurisdiction of the case, by reason of the fact that the amount of the claim exceeded the jurisdiction of the justice, the plaintiff’s claim is saved from the bar of the Statute of Limitations under the provision of section 23 of the Code, if a new action is brought thereon within one year from the dismissal of the first action. 2. Question oe Fact — whether issue is same as in former suit is. An issue in such case, that the cause of action sued upon in the second suit is not the same cause of action sued upon in the first suit, is an issue of fact to be submitted to the jury; and an issue of fact made by the pleadings in such second suit, whether the first suit had been dismissed prior to the institution of the second suit, is also an issue of fact to be submitted to the jury under proper instructions by the court.