Glendenning v. Cowan

59 Ind. App. 529
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 13, 1915
DocketNo. 9,254
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 59 Ind. App. 529 (Glendenning v. Cowan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Glendenning v. Cowan, 59 Ind. App. 529 (Ind. Ct. App. 1915).

Opinion

ITottel, J.

The appellants filed in the Adams Circuit Court a complaint in one paragraph in which they sought to enjoin appellee from letting a contract for the construction of a school building and abandoning school district No. 3 in Hartford Township, said county, and from paying-out any money of the township for plans and specifications for the building. • On the filing of the complaint a temporary restraining order was issued.

To the complaint appellee filed a demurrer based on all the grounds therefor enumerated by §344- Burns 1914, Acts 1911 p. 415, except ground number three. The ground of the demurrer which challenged the complaint as not containing facts sufficient was accompanied by a memorandum [531]*531containing the following objections thereto*: (1) Each and every act complained of is an act of discretion from which the law provides a plain and adequate legal remedy by appeal by plaintiffs to the county superintendent. (2) Said complaint does not aver that an appeal has been taken or prayed for from the action of the defendant as such school trustee to the county superintendent. (3) Said complaint is insufficient because it does not aver what the indebtedness of Hartford School Township is, or what the assessed valuation of taxable property is or what amounts of funds are now on hand available for the payments of the cost of construction of the school building mentioned in the complaint. (4) Said complaint does not state facts as to what amount of indebtedness might be incurred by the defendant as such school trustee without exceeding the constitutional limit. (5) That each and every allegation of the complaint is a statement of a conclusion and not the statement of a fact. (6) Said complaint is not properly verified, there being no statement that the person making the affidavit is a party plaintiff or that he'has authority to make such affidavit. (7) The complaint does not aver that plaintiffs can not obtain full and adequate relief by an action at law or by appeal. (8) That said complaint does not aver that the plaintiffs or either of them will suffer great or irreparable injury or any fact from which such fact might or coidd be presumed. (9) Said complaint does not aver or state, which if any of the plaintiffs will be especially injured by the acts complained of. (10) Said complaint does not aver that the plaintiffs or either of them will be especially injured by the acts of the defendant complained of but on the contrary said complaint proceeds upon the theory of enjoining the invasion of a public right without any special injury to the plaintiffs or either of them.

[532]*5321. [531]*531This demurrer was sustained. Appellants refused to plead further and judgment was rendered against them for costs, and the temporary restraining order before issued [532]*532by the court was dissolved. To such ruling and judgment appellants excepted and prayed an appeal and assign in this court errors on which they rely for reversal as follows: (1) The court erred in sustaining the demurrer of the appellee to the complaint of the appellants. (2) The court erred in rendering judgment against the appellants in favor of appellee. (3) The court erred in dissolving the restraining order issued against the appellee. Under repeated decisions of this and the Supreme Court, the second assigned error presents no question. Finch v. Travelers Ins. Co. (1882), 87 Ind. 302, 304; Indiana Bond Co. v. Shearer (1900), 24 Ind. App. 622, 57 N. E. 276; Board, etc. v. State, ex rel. (1913), 179 Ind. 644, 102 N. E. 97.

If the demurrer to the complaint was properly sustained, upon appellee’s refusing to plead further, the dissolution of the restraining order before issued, and judgment in appellee’s favor would necessarily follow, so that in any event a disposition of the first assigned error disposes of the last two.

2. In our disposition of such error we deem it unnecessary to set out the complant or discuss the various grounds of demurrer thereto. It is sufficient, we think, to say that the averments of the complaint disclose and appellants in their brief state in effect that their action is under Acts 1913 p. 331, §§6584a, 6584b, 6584c Burns 1914, and that their complaint proceeds on the theory that appellee, in attempting to let the contract for the school building mentioned in such complaint, was acting in violation of such act. In support of this contention it is insisted by appellants that the complaint alleges that the appellee trustee is about to let the contract for the erection of said school building without being petitioned so to do, as required by §1 of said act; that two-thirds of the parents, guardians, heads of families and persons having charge of children who were enumerated for school purposes i» such town[533]*533ship at the last preceding enumeration had filed a remonstrance with such trustee against the construction of said school building; that there are now, and have been for a number of years last past, two high schools, one at the town of Berne and one at the town of Geneva, Indiana, both of which high schools are Avithin three miles of the boundary line of said toAvnship of Hartford.

It is argued that these averments show that such trustee in attempting to let said contract was violating the act in question because it is only in cases where there is no high school within three miles of the boundary line.of the township that a trustee thereof, under said act, may, without petition, establish and maintain such high school. The act of 1913 (Acts 1913 p. 331, supra) provides as follows: “That in each township of this State having an assessed Araluation of more than six hundred thousand dollars * * * of taxable property and AAdierein there is not now established a high school, and Avherein there is not situate a city or toAvn maintaining a high school, and Avherein for each of the two years last past there have been eight or more graduates of the township elementary schools, residing in such township,' the township trustee may establish and maintain therein, a high school or a joint high school and elementary school, and employ competent teachers therefor; whenever a majority of parents, guardians, heads of families, or persons, having charge of children, who were enumerated for school purposes in said township, at the last preceding enumeration, petition the trustee of said township to establish and maintain a high school or joint high school and elementary school, said trustee shall establish and maintain such a school petitioned for. Sec. 2. That in each township in this state having an assessed valuation of more than six hundred thousand dollars * # * of taxable property and wherein there is not now established a high school in such township or in any town within such township and Avhere there is no high school [534]*534within, three miles of any boundary line of such township, and wherein for each of the two years last past there have been eight or more graduates of the township elementary schools, residing in such township, the township trustee shall establish .and maintain therein a high school and employ competent teachers therefor. Sec. 3. The location of such school shall be determined by the township trustee; Provided,

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Bluebook (online)
59 Ind. App. 529, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/glendenning-v-cowan-indctapp-1915.