Curtis v. Pappas
Curtis v. Pappas
Opinion of the Court
Nicholas J. Curtis, acting for himself, has presented to this court a petition in which he asks that a writ of mandamus be allowed by this court to review a judgment of the District Court of the city of Paterson rendered in a suit instituted by him against Nicholas J. Pappas and Helen N. Pappas. From a reading of the petition it appears that on October 19th, 1925, the petitioner instituted in said court a suit against Nicholas J. Pappas and Helen N. Pappas to recover wages which the petitioner claimed were owing him by the defendants. The amount claimed was $347.92. The petitioner claimed that he was to be paid a regular wage of $25 per week, and for any overtime at the rate of twenty-nine cents per hour.
The petitioner has taken no action by appeal to have the judgment reviewed. The statute outlines the procedure to be followed where a party feels himself aggrieved by a judgment of a District Court. In such cases the legislature designates the practice to be followed. This court has not the power to depart from the procedure fixed by the legislature. Appeals from judgments of District Courts must be made in conformity with the statutes respecting appeals. The petitioner seeks to explain his conduct in the present ease by stating that he did not know the law in this respect. This is not a sufficient excuse for his failure. He is presumed to know the law. We regret that the petitioner did not take personally or by his attorney the proper steps to review the judgment. We feel, however, that we cannot depart from the statutory provisions regarding appeals by granting the mandamus asked for by the petitioner to review the judgment of the District Court.
The petition is dismissed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- NICHOLAS J. CURTIS v. NICHOLAS J. PAPPAS AND HELEN N. PAPPAS, PARTNERS, TRADING UNDER THE NAME AND STYLE OF THE PAPPAS SEA FOOD RESTAURANT, AND, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, NICHOLAS J. PAPPAS, INDIVIDUALLY, AND HELEN N. PAPPAS. INDIVIDUALLY
- Status
- Published