Corbett v. Duncan
Corbett v. Duncan
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
Section 1103 of the Code of 1880 authorizes one or more legal voters of any town or city in which license'is sought to be obtained to retail vinous or spirituous liquors to interpose his or their objections to the grant of such license, by exhibiting a counter petition to the proper authorities. It is not necessary that counter petitions shall be signed by a majority of the legal voters of such towns. Where it is sought to prevent the issuance of a license to any party whatever, during a period of twelve months after the presentation
It is unnecessary to consider all of the various objections taken to the action of the corporate authorities since we are enabled to satisfactorily dispose of the case upon the insufficiency of the petition upon which the license was sought. The code, § 1103, declares that no license shall be granted to any person to retail spirituous or vinous liquor in less quantities than one gallon, “ unless the applicant shall first produce a petition for the issuance of such license, and recommending the said applicant to be of good reputation, and a sober and suitable person to receive such license.” The petition by which the appellant supported his application represented him to be a sober and suitable person to receive the license, but it does not contain any representation that he is a person of good rejmtation, as the statute requires. It may be that these petitioners believed that a man who was sober and suitable to retail liquor was necessarily a man of good reputation, and therefore they omitted to add the statutory certificate required as surplusage; but, on the other hand, it may be tliat they were unwilling to certify that the applicant was of good reputation in the community, but was, nevertheless, in their opinion, a suitable man to receive a license to re
The petition was insufficient, and the judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Cornelius Corbett v. L. A. Duncan
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Retailing Liquor. Petition against license. Section 1103, Code 1880, construed. Section 1103 of the Code of 1880 provides that petitions for license to retail vinous and spirituous liquors, after being presented and filed, shall lie over one month for consideration and the reception of counter petitions before being acted upon, and any name found on both petitions shall be counted against the granting of the license ; and if in any supervisor’s district or incorporated town, a majority of legal voters therein petition the board of supervisors or municipal authorities against the granting of license to retail spirituous liquors, then license shall not be granted 'to any applicant within the bounds of such district or incorporated town within twelve months after said petition is so presented. Where under this provision it is sought to prevent the issuance of any license to sell liquor for the period of twelve months, the petition must be signed by a majority of the legal voters within the supervisor’s district or incorporated town, but where it is sought to prevent the issuance of such license to a particular individual, a single voter may intervene by counter petition for the purpose of raising any valid objection to its issuance. % Same. Petition counter, of less than a majority. Effect thereof. But such counter petition of less than a majority of the legal voters can have no other effect than to call the attention of the authorities to any defects on the face of the petition, or to any facts which should prevent the issuance of the license, except where the signers thereof .have also signed the petition for license, in which case their names must he counted against the application for license. 3. Same. Petition for license. What to contain. When a petition for license to retail vinous and spirituous liquors in less quantities than one gallon sets out in the language of (i 1103 of the Code of 1880, “ that the applicant is a sober and suitable person to receive such license,” but fails to “recommend him to be of good reputation,” as required by that statute, such petition is insufficient. 4. Same. Certiorari to municipal authorities. A writ of certiorari may he awarded by the circuit court to correct errors of law apparent on the face of the record of the proceedings of municipal authorities in relation to petitions for and against the issuance of a license to retail vinous and spirituous liquors, where no appeal is given in such case by statute.