Olyphant Sewage-Drainage Co. v. Borough of Olyphant
Cases that cite this one
7 later published cases cite this decision.
- Upper Dublin Township Authority v. Piszek (Pa. 1966)
- Keystone Wood Co. v. Susquehanna Boom Co. (District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania 1916)
- Com. ex rel. Woodruff v. American Base Ball Club (Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas 1926)
- Valley Railways v. Harrisburg (Pa. 1924)
- Kulp v. Public Service Commission (Pa. Super. Ct. 1923)
- Easton Transit Co.'s Petition (Pa. 1921)
- Passyunk Avenue Business Men's Ass'n v. Public Service Commission (Pa. Super. Ct. 1919)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Tested by the settled rule of our eases the conclusion reached by the learned judge of the common pleas is right for the reasons stated by him. We have uniformly held that the validity of a charter for a public purpose cannot be determined in a collateral proceeding by a private suitor. It can be done only in a direct proceeding to which the commonwealth is a party. Among the more recent cases on the subject are Hinchman v. Philadelphia and West Chester Turnpike Road Co., 160 Pa. 150, and The Downingtown Gas and Water Co. v. Borough of Downingtown, 193 Pa. 255. Whether a right or franchise claimed by a corporation is conferred by its charter may be inquired into in a proceeding at law or in equity by a party injured, as provided by the Act of June 19, 1871, P. L. 1361; but whether for any reason the charter of a corporation was originally invalid or has been forfeited is a question which the commonwealth only can raise.
The decree is affirmed at the cost of the appellants.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.