McCoach v. Sheehan
McCoach v. Sheehan
Opinion of the Court
If James B. Sheehan, register of wills of Philadelphia County, has no right to retain the commissions allowed him by the Commonwealth on collateral inheritance tax collected by him for its use, but must pay the same to the county, under the Act of July 21,1913, P. L. 878, it is the only party to compel him to pay. The learned president judge of the court below recognized this in saying: “The judgment here entered cannot bind the County of Philadelphia. The fees and commissions of the register are, by the Act of July 21,1913, P. L. 878, made payable into the county treasury. They are not, however, to be paid into it for the benefit of the treasurer, either in his private or his official capacity. They are to be paid into its treasury because they belong to the county. In Pennsylvania the county is a juridical person. Section 3 of the Act of April 15, 1834, P. L. 537, declares that it shall have capacity as a body corporate, to sue and be sued by its corporate name, and to take and hold real estate and personal property. By section five of the same act it is provided that ‘all suits by a county shall be brought and conducted by the commissioners thereof, and in all suits against a county, process shall be served upon and defense made by the commissioners.’ An action for the recovery of money due to a county should, therefore, be brought in the name of the county itself, and
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.