City of Princeton v. Woodruff

104 N.E.2d 748, 230 Ind. 536, 1952 Ind. LEXIS 222
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedApril 7, 1952
DocketNo. 28,873
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 104 N.E.2d 748 (City of Princeton v. Woodruff) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Princeton v. Woodruff, 104 N.E.2d 748, 230 Ind. 536, 1952 Ind. LEXIS 222 (Ind. 1952).

Opinions

Gilkison, C. J.

This is an action by the City of Princeton, Indiana against M. Vernor Woodruff, its Mayor and twenty-five others, his appointees, praying that the mayor and such appointees be enjoined and restrained from retaining possession of any and all property, real and personal, belonging to the city; from interfering with, molesting or hampering appointees, of the common council of the city, in the performance of their respective duties; that the defendants, Woodruff and Garrett, be restrained from pretending to act as a board of public works and safety for the city; that upon a hearing each of the defendants be temporarily enjoined until a trial may be had, and that upon such trial the defendants be permanently enjoined as prayed, and for all other proper relief in the premises. The complaint is duly verified by all the members of the common council of the city.

Because of the temporary absence of the regular judge of the circuit from the state, as properly shown by affidavit, the matter was presented to the judge of an adjoining circuit, who after considering the verified complaint and approving a bond in the penal sum of $5,000 issued an order thereon in part as follows:

“. . . and the court being sufficiently advised in the premises, finds that plaintiff and petitioner is entitled to a restraining order as therein prayed.
[540]*540“It is therefore ordered and considered by the said Judge that the defendants, and each of them, namely, M. Vernor Woodruff, James Belcher, John Stoll, Percy Dunn, Hosea Usery, Billie Foster, Clarence O’Neil, John Smith, Mildred Degenhart, Earnest Green, Charles Phillips, Ross Ritchie, Harold Hart, Howard Hart, Pearl Barrett, Aden Lloyd, Elwood Legg, Carl E. Johnson, Donald McIntyre, Theodore Hood, Frank Kimbrough, Habert Burns, Mildred Hitch, Harry Black, Delbert Chavis, Harvey W. Garrett, be, and they are now hereby restrained from retaining property in their possession or custody, both real and personal belonging to said city, and particularly in the custody of the water works department, the park department, the sewage disposal department, the street and sewer department, parking meter department and the legal department, and that they be restrained from interfering with or molesting or in any way hampering the'performance of' duties of each the said departments by the appointees named by the Common Council of the City of Princeton, Indiana, as set out in said complaint; until further order of the court, and until the 14th day of January, 1952, and the further order of court.
“It is further ordered that the defendants, and each of them, be notified that an application for a temporary injunction will be heard before the Judge of the Gibson Circuit Court in the court room in the city of Princeton, County of Gibson,. State of Indiana, on the 14th day of January, 1952, at the hour of nine A.M. or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard.
“It is further ordered that there issue to the Sheriff of said County a certified copy of this order, and that he be and he is now hereby directed to serve the same forthwith upon the defendants, and each of them, and make due return thereof.”

Thereafter “M. Vernor Woodruff, James Belcher, John Stoll et al.” filed their motion, verified by M. Vernor Woodruff to dissolve the restraining order, abate the action and all other proper relief.

[541]*541On January 14, 1952, being the first judicial day of the Gibson Circuit Court the court ignored the motion to abate the action, heard the evidence, passed upon the merits of the petition for a temporary injunction and made its order on the application for temporary injunction only which, omitting caption, is as follows:

“Comes now the plaintiff by attorneys, Douglas H. McDonald and Mark P. Lockwood, and come also the defendants in person and by their counsel, Harvey W. Garrett, Kimmell & Kimmell and Sanford Trippet, this cause on this day on said restraining order and plaintiff’s petition for temporary injunction being set for hearing and notice having been given the defendants. And now said defendants file their verified motion to dissolve the restraining order heretofore issued in this cause and to abate the action herein. The court now receives in evidence the plaintiff’s verified application for restraining order and defendants’ verified motion to dissolve the restraining order. The court now being duly advised in the premises dissolves said restraining order heretofore granted and finds that plaintiff’s petition for temporary injunction should be and the same is hereby denied, to each of which rulings of the court the plaintiff at the time excepts.”

From this interlocutory order refusing to grant a temporary injunction the appeal is taken. The record containing the bill of exceptions was filed in this court on January 22, 1952.

Appellees have filed a verified motion to dismiss the appeal for the reasons as follows:

I. That no appeal was prayed for.
2. That no appeal bond was filed.
3. That the controversy is now moot.

We shall discuss each of these reasons in the order named.

[542]*5421. This is an appeal from an interlocutory order under §2-3218 et seq. Burns’ 1946 Replacement. §2-3219 provides:

“Such appeal may be taken only within thirty [30] days from the date of the interlocutory order appealed from. To perfect such appeal, the appellant shall file an appeal bond as in cases of term appeals from final judgments, and shall file his transcript and assignment of errors, all within sáid period of thirty [30] days.”

Rule 2-3 of the Supreme Court provides:

. . All parties to the record in the trial court shall be parties on appeal without further notice. An appeal shall be initiated by filing in the office of the clerk below a praecipe designating what is to be embraced in the transcript. . . .
“No appeal bond shall be necessary to. perfect, an appeal from any judgment or appealable interlocutory order. . . .”

Appellant has complied with this rule and the statute fully, except to file an appeal bond. This brings us to the next reason.

2. §2-4717 Burns’ 1946 Replacement provides as follows:

“In all actions' in which any city, or town, or those representing it in any official capacity, are entitled to pray or take an appeal of any kind, the same shall be granted or taken as to such city, or town, or such persons, without bond. Any term appeal so granted may be perfected without further notice at any time within the period of time allowed for perfecting general appeals in vacation.
“No proceedings shall be had to enforce any judgment against such city, or town, or such persons, and execution thereon shall be stayed pending an appeal therefrom.
[543]*543“No bond or undertaking shall be required of any city, or town, or those representing it in any official capacity, in any proceeding or action, either by or against it, or them, in which any such bonds or undertakings are either now or may be hereafter required generally of any parties thereto.”

This statute, an Act of 1931, Ch. 9, §1, p.

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Florida Attorney General Reports, 1978
City of Princeton v. Woodruff
104 N.E.2d 748 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1952)

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Bluebook (online)
104 N.E.2d 748, 230 Ind. 536, 1952 Ind. LEXIS 222, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-princeton-v-woodruff-ind-1952.