St. John v. M. A. Talbot & Son
St. John v. M. A. Talbot & Son
Opinion of the Court
Statement of the Case.
Plaintiff has appealed from a judgment rejecting his demand for damages for an alleged false arrest and imprisonment. It appears that plaintiff and defendants M. A. and J. M. Talbot, who are in business under the firm name of M. A. Talbot & Son, reside in Union parish; that they had
Opinion.
Plaintiff was properly released on the habeas corpus, as this court has decided that R. S. § 988, which provides that, when an offense has been committed on the boundary between two parishes, or within 100 yards of such boundary, it may be dealt with in either parish, is unconstitutional. State v. Montgomery, 115 La. 155, 38 South. 949. But we have not been able to discover a sufficient basis upon which to predicate a judgment for damages. It is true that there was a technical error in the matter of plaintiff’s arrest. On the other hand, we conclude from the testimony that defendants had just cause of complaint against him. And, finally, the evidence satisfies us that the arrest was not malicious, and that plaintiff voluntarily subjected himself to inconvenience, and refused to give a peace bond, though the constable, who served the warrant, offered to become his surety, and there were others who would have rendered the same service, in order that he might bring this suit.
We find no merit in the claim, and the judgment appealed from is aflirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- ST. JOHN v. M. A. TALBOT & SON
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- (Syllabus by the Court.) Criminal Law (§ 111*) — False Imprisonment (§ 10*) — Jurisdiction op Magistrate — Injury to Plaintipp. Where, for the purpose of securing a peace bond, a party is arrested for an offense committed, and about to be committed, in an adjoining parish, but within 100 yards of the line,_ he is properly released for want of jurisdiction in the magistrate’s court, but where, from the evidence, it appears that he was justly accused, and that he could readily have given bond — in fact, that the constable, who served the warrant, offered to become his surety — and voluntarily went to jail in order to make out a claim for damages, such claim will be dismissed. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Criminal Law, Cent. Dig. § 229; Dee. Dig. § 111;* False Imprisonment, Cent. Dig. § 74; Dec. Dig. § 10.*]