Commonwealth ex rel. Lazarus v. Shannon
Commonwealth ex rel. Lazarus v. Shannon
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This action was brought in the Court of Common Pleas of Northumberland county, and arbitrated under the act of the 20th of March, 1810. The arbitrators reported in favour of the defendant generally. The plaintiff appealed, and paid the costs agreeably to the act. The cause was afterwards tried by jury, in the Court of Common Pleas, and a verdict given for the plaintiff, for the sum of one hundred and thirty-three dollars, forty-three cents. On this verdict, the court gave judgment for the plaintiff, for one hundred and thirty-three dollars, forty-three cents, and the costs accrued after the entry of the appeal, but not for the costs which the plaintiff had paid, before he entered his appeal. The question is, whether the plaintiff was entitled to the costs paid by him, before the entry of the appeal. This depends upon the act of the 20th of March, 1810. By the 11th section of this act, it is provided, that no appeal shall be allowed to either party, until the appellant pay “all the costs that may have accrued on such suit, or action.” If the plaintiff be the appellant, he is to euter into a recognizance with sureties, the condition of which shall be, “that, if the said plaintiff shall not recover, in the event of the suit, a sum greater, or a judgment more favourable than the report of the arbitrators, he shall pay all costs that shall accrue in consequence of the said appeal, and one dollar a day for each and every day lost by the defendant, in attending on the said appeal.” And by the 13th section of the act, it is enacted, “that the costs directed by the 11th section, to be paid by the appellant, shall be taxed in his bill, and recovered of the adverse party in such cases only, where, in the event of the suit, the appellant is entitled to recover costs, agreeably to the provisions in this act.” There are no other provisions in the act, mentioning particularly in what event of the suit the appellant shall be entitled to recover costs; so that we must recur to general principles, and according to them, the plaintiff having obtained a
In the present case, I am of opinion, that so much of the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas should be reversed, as re spects the costs paid by the plaintiff on the entry of the appeal, and that judgment should be entered for the plaintiff, for those costs. The residue of the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas is to be affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.