Board of Sup'rs v. Warden
Board of Sup'rs v. Warden
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court. -
Warden & Barrett were road contractors in district No. 5 of Lamar county, and filed a suit against the board of supervisors in the circuit court of said county,, alleging that the board elected to work the public roads of the county by contract and resolved that the several beats should be let as a contractor’s district, and that the plaintiffs were awarded the contract for working
We are met at the threshold of this case with the question of jurisdiction, the case having originated in the circuit court, and the amount is shown hy the exhibit to the declaration to he less than the jurisdictional amount of the circuit court. It is insisted hy the appellee that the hoard was estopped to deny that the amount still due was two hundred and ten dollars and twenty-three cents, because they had figured the amount to he eight hundred and forty dollars and ninety-four cents. There is no element of estoppel in this, because the plaintiffs • were not prejudiced or misled hy this mistake, and the recital of the board on its minutes as to the amount that would he due at that time would not vary the terms of the contract. It thus appears that the circuit court had no jurisdiction to adjudicate the differences between the litigants in this case and that the judgment entered hy the court against the county for two hundred and ten dollars and twenty-three cents was without jurisdictional authority and void. See Rich v. Calhoun, 12 S. 707; Griffin v. McDaniel, 63 Miss. 121; M. J. & K. C. R. Co. v. Hitt et al., 55 So. 484.
The court being without jurisdiction to render the judgment, we cannot decide the other question presented in the record.
The judgment is reversed, and the suit dismissed.
Reversed and dissmissed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Board of Sup'rs of Lamar County v. Warden and Barrett
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Courts. Jurisdiction. Estoppel. In a suit by road contractors against a county, where, under their contract, they were entitled to a certain compensation, the fact that the board of supervisors of the county erroneously estimated the amount due the contractors at too high a figure, did not estop the county from afterwards questioning the jurisdiction of the court to try the case on account of the amount really involved. 2. Judgments. Jurisdiction. Amount involved. Where the maximum recovery to which plaintiff was entitled was one hundred and thirty-eight dollars the circuit court was without jurisdiction though the suit was brought for two hundred and ten dollars.