Commonwealth ex rel. v. Everts
Commonwealth ex rel. v. Everts
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
We are asked to review a record in connection with which are contained the following docket entries :
December 6, 1900, jury called, selected and sworn.
December 6, 1900, by direction of court, compulsory nonsuit entered.
February 14, 1900 (evidently 1901), motion of plaintiff, E. O. Heck, presented to court to amend record by changing style of plaintiffs.
May 24, 1901. Rule to amend record heard by Hon. John M. Bailey, P. J., and discharged, and bill of exceptions sealed by E. O. Heck, plaintiff.
June 5, 1901, appeal by plaintiffs to Superior Court.
The motion for a nonsuit was made after the commonwealth had made an offer of evidence containing presumably its entire case. This assumption is based upon the fact that plaintiff made no effort to amend or enlarge the offer after the motion for nonsuit was made. This offer was not formally ruled out but is incidentally passed upon by the granting of the motion for a non-suit, the court saying: “ In view of the motion just now made by counsel for the defendant for a compulsory nonsuit, we will rule upon that motion and it will, in the view we take of the case, dispose of the pending offer as well.” The Act of March 11, 1875, P. L. 6, provides: “ That whenever the defendant, upon
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- Practice, G. P. — Nonsuit?—Evidence—Act of March 11, 1875, P. L. 6. Where an offer of evidence is made containing plaintiff’s entire case, and immediately thereafter a motion for nonsuit is made, the motion is in effect a demurrer to the evidence, and the granting of the motion is equivalent to a decision by the court that the plaintiff had offered no evidence or no sufficient evidence to sustain the issue. Such a case comes within the provisions of the Act of March 11, 1875, P. L. 6, and if the plaintiff takes an appeal, without moving to set aside the nonsuit, the appeal will be quashed as improvidently taken.