Downing v. . Marshall

37 N.Y. 380
CourtNew York Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 5, 1867
StatusPublished
Cited by68 cases

This text of 37 N.Y. 380 (Downing v. . Marshall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Downing v. . Marshall, 37 N.Y. 380 (N.Y. 1867).

Opinion

Our attention is specially directed to the exceptions touching the extra allowances of costs and counsel fees in this case.

When the case was first in the Supreme Court, there were allowed, in addition to taxable costs: to the plaintiffs or their attorneys, $500; to James E. Marshall, $250; Benjamin Marshall and others, $250; the Bible society, $250; the *Page 381 Missionary society, $250; the Tract society, $250; the Marshall infirmary $250; to the attorney and guardian ad litem of infants, who put in an answer submitting their rights to the court, $250 — in all, $2,250.

These sums were allowed by the judgment now under review, and additions made thus: to the attorneys of the executors, $2,500; to the attorneys of the Marshalls, $2,000; to the attorney of the Marshall infirmary, $1,500; to the attorney of the Bible society, $1,500; to the attorney for the Missionary society, $1,000; to the attorney of the Tract society, $1,000 — in all, $12,250.

The taxed costs of all the parties, including those in this court, amount to $2,849.93, making, in all, aside from the costs in this court upon the present appeal, $15,099.92.

The trustees are ordered to pay these sums out of the estate, one-half from the realty, and the other from the personalty.

By the common law costs were not awardable. They were, however, recoverable, in many actions at law, as early as the thirteenth century. (2 Coke's Inst. 112; Statute of Marleborough, chap. 6, id. p. 288; Statute of Gloucester, whereof Coke says: "Before this statute, at the common law, no man recovered any costs of suit, either in plea, real, personal or mixed;" 6 Vin. Ab. 321, Costs.)

By a statute of the 17 Richard II, chap. 6, it was enacted that "forasmuch as people can be compelled to come before the King's Council, or in chancery, by writs granted upon untrue suggestions, that the chancellor, for the time being, personally, after that such suggestions being duly found and proved untrue, shall have power to ordain and allow damages, according to his discretion, to him which is so troubled unduly, as often is said." (Beames on Ch. Costs, 4; 4 Inst., 82, where Coke says: "This is the first Parliament that I find touching the matter." He is treating of the Court of Chancery.) It is understood by Beames, supra (and see 2 Bl. Com. 451, and Coke, supra), that the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery touching costs originated in this statute. It was construed as authorizing the award of "damages" *Page 382 (construed as including costs) to either party, and in any amount, according to the discretion of the court, and thesedamages were awarded sometimes as a remuneration to the successful party, and sometimes as a punishment to the unsuccessful party. In one case, for scandal in bill, the gross sum of £ 100 was directed to be paid, and in another the like sum, for scandal in an answer. (Vin. Ab., Costs in Chancery, v. 6, p. 364, 365.)

The practice of punishing a party, by ordering the payment of a gross sum, or exemplary costs, was discontinued at an early day, from the intrinsic difficulties of conviction (Beames on Eq. Costs, 164); and the court, after a time, regulated the amount of costs, and for what services they should be allowed, by general orders, and thus established a fee bill of costs between party and party, which is adhered to except in special cases, when the court will order the costs to be taxed as between solicitor and client.

I am not aware that Parliament interfered with the discretionary power of the court over costs, except, perhaps, to a very limited extent. By a statute (4 Anne, chap. 16, § 23) it was enacted, "that, upon the plaintiff dismissing his own bill, or the defendant dismissing the same for want of prosecution, the plaintiff in such suit shall pay to the defendant or defendants, his or their full costs, to be taxed by a master." This statute, it was held, did not apply to a dismissal at the hearing; and it was usual for the plaintiff to set down his cause for hearing on bill and answer, and, on being dismissed, he would only be liable for forty shillings costs, according to an old rule of the court; and to obviate this the rule, by a general order, was altered by Lord HARDWICK, in 1748, by which it is declared that "this court may and is at liberty to direct and order such dismission to be either with forty shillings costs, or with costs to be taxed by a master, or without costs, as the court upon the substance and merits of the case shall think fit." (Beames on Eq. Costs, 86.) Thus it is seen that Lord HARDWICK did not regard that statute as imperative, but maintained the discretionary power of the court as to awarding costs. We shall hereafter find this part *Page 383 of the statute of Anne, in our statutes, and I may as well notice it here, as I am about to look into our legislation briefly. It is found in the act passed April 7, 1801, to reduce certain laws concerning costs into one statute, and I think all the provisions of the act relate to actions at law, except section sixteen, which is taken from the statute of Anne. (Sts. H. and R., v. 1, 532, § 16.) This is carried into the Revised Laws of 1813 (v. 1, p. 346, § 16), in an act concerning costs, having no other relation to costs in chancery, and thence, with a modification, into the Revised Statutes (v. 2, p. 613). April 8, 1801, an act was passed entitled "An act regulating the fees of the several officers and ministers of justice within this State," by which it was enacted, "that no officer or other person shall exact, demand or ask, or be allowed, any greater or other fee or reward, from or in respect of any service hereafter to be done, or payment, than such as is hereinafter specified, that is to say." This act contained fee bills for solicitors and counselors, and all other officers in the Court of Chancery. The enactment in the Revised Laws of 1813 is in the same words; and I am not aware that they underwent any modification, prior to the Revised Statutes of 1830. By the latter statutes the chapter relating to costs is divided into four titles. The first specified the cases in which costs may be awarded, and the first section contained the provision from the statute of Anne, above mentioned, with the qualifications not before found in our statutes, "except in those cases where, according to the practice of the court, costs would not be awarded against such complainant, upon a decree rendered on hearing the cause." Thus either recognizing the construction put upon the provisions in the statute of Anne, by Lord HARDWICK, or abrogating the imperative character of the provision, as found in our previous acts. The next section expressly declares that the costs of all suits and proceedings in equity shall be paid by such party as the court shall direct. And the revisers in their notes say that this is "now declaratory of existing law" (2 R.S. 613, §§ 81, 82, and reviser's notes). On turning to title three of this chapter, "Of the fees of certain *Page 384 officers," it will be seen that the language of the acts of 1801 and 1813 (supra), is changed. It is declared that "for the following services," etc., etc., "the following fees shall be allowed." Then follow the fee bills, etc., in all the courts of record. There is no prohibitory language here, and it is, undoubtedly, generally imperative; and I do not suppose that the court would have the power to deprive attorneys and counselors, in actions at law, of their taxable costs, according to the fee bill in the statute. I speak of costs against the party made liable by statute to pay.

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37 N.Y. 380, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/downing-v-marshall-ny-1867.