Petty v. Board of Trustees of the Church of Christ

70 Ind. 290
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedMay 15, 1880
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 70 Ind. 290 (Petty v. Board of Trustees of the Church of Christ) 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
Petty v. Board of Trustees of the Church of Christ, 70 Ind. 290 (Ind. 1880).

Opinion

Worden, J.

— Complaint by the appellee, against the appellant, in three paragraphs.

The first was as follows :

“ Comes the . plaintiff, viz., The Board of Trustees of the Church of Christ, in. the City of Muncie, County of Delaware, and State of Indiana, and says that the defendant, John S. Petty, of the county of Delaware and [291]*291State of Indiana, is indebted to tbe plaintiff in tbe sum of three hundred aud eleven dollars, as follows : That on the 22d day of August, in the year 1874, said plaintiffs, with said defendant, were legally formed into a Board of Trustees of the Church of Christ, in the City of Muncie, for the purpose of purchasing a, lot in said city and erecting a house thereon, to belong to and be used by said church as a house of worship ; and'that said defendant as a member of said board, did agree to take stock in said enterprise of purchasing a lot in said city and erecting said house, to the amount of $200; and, .further, that said defendant did agree and covenant with said plaintiff to give his assistance in raising subscriptions, and otherwise carrying on the work of completing said building, on condition that plaintiff would purchase a lot in said city and erect a house of worship thereon, all of which the defendant failed, neglected and refused to do and perform in consequence of said failure, the work of erecting said house was hindered, and the capital stock of said board thereby made to be deficient in amount; and that, by said failure to do and perform his adequate part according to said agreement and covenant, said plaintiffs were hindered and injured to the amount of $100, and by his, defendant’s, failing and refusing to pay his said share of stock according to agreement, $200 ; and, further, that the interest now accrued on said $200, since the same was due and should have been paid, is $11; all of which is due said plaintiff from said defendant and has been demanded of him and he refuses to pay.”

Second paragraph:

“And, as a second paragraph and further complaint, said plaintiffs say that said defendant did agree to solicit subscriptions for the above named purpose, and to head said subscription with his own name and subscription, to [292]*292the amount of $200, and in compliance with said agreement subscribed under a heading in writing, as follow's: “ ‘ We, the undersigned, agree to pay the sums set opposite our names to the Trustees of the Church of Christ, in the City of Muncie, Indiana, for the purchase of a lot ■ and the erection of a house of worship for the use of said church. Size of said house to be 40 x 60 feet; said sums to be paid as follows: one-half on first day of June, 1875, and one-half on the first day of January, 1876.
Names. Amount.
John S. Petty. $200.00/
“And, further, that said plaintiff did proceed to raise funds for the purchase of a suitable lot, and did purchase the same in said city of Muncie; and, further, they did raise funds by subscription for the erection of a suitable house of worship thereon, and did notify said defendant, from time to time, of all meetings of the board for the settlement of questions of importance, and did erect a house on said lot for the purpose above designated, and said house is now being used regularly by said church; and,further, defendant’s said subscription has been demanded, and he refused payment thereof when due, and continues to refuse said payment, and the same is due and unpaid. They therefore ask judgment for
Subscription...............................................$ 200.00
Damage...............................................:.... 100.00
Interest..................................................... 11.00
“Total............................................ $311.00.”

■Third paragraph:

“The plaintiff, further complaining, says, that on the - day of April, 1875, the defendant executed an instrument in writing (of which a copy is filed herewith), and thereby promised to pay to the plaintiffs, by the description of ‘ The Trustees of the Church of Christ, [293]*293in the city of Muueie, Indiana,’ two hundred dollars for the purchase of a lot in said city, and the erection of a house of worship thereon, for the use of said church, one-half on the first of June, 1875, and one-half on the first day of January, 1876; and the plaintiff further avers, that, in part relying upon said subscription, the plaintiff afterward purchased for the purpose aforesaid lot No. 8, in block No. 18, in Jackson’s Donation to said city of Muncie, and proceeded to erect thereon a house of worship for the use of said church, and for that purpose incurred a large expense, to wit, $1,500, of which $500 remains unpaid. The plaintiff avers that no portion of said sum of $200 has been paid by the defendant, but the same remains due and owing, though often demanded by the plaintiff; and plaintiff asks judgment for $300, and other proper relief.”

The defendant filed a demui-rer separately to each paragraph of the complaint, assigning as cause therefor, that the paragraphs did not state facts sufficient. The demurrer to the first paragraph .was sustained, and the plaintiff excepted. The demurrers to the second and third paragraphs were overruled, and the defendant excepted. Such further proceedings were had as that final judgment was rendered for the plaintiff.

The defendant appeals, and has assigned error upon the overruling of the demurrers to the second and third paragraphs of the complaint; and the plaintiff, the appellee herein, has assigned a cross error upon the ruling in sustaining the demurrer to the first paragraph.

In passing upon the several rulings, we must determine a preliminary point, made by the appellee, as to the sufficiency of the demurrers.

The demurrer to the first paragraph, and the others, mutatis mutandis, were like it, was as follows:

“ The defendant, by counsel, comes and demurs to the [294]*294first paragraph of the complaint, and says that said paragraph does not state facts sufficient.”

It is contended by counsel for the appellee, that these demurrers were not sufficient to raise any question, and should, for that reason, if for no other, have been overruled. Section 50 of the code provides for six causes of demurrer to a complaint, the fifth of which is, “ That the complaint does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action.” It further provides, that “ for no other cause shall a demurrer be sustained; and, unless the demurrer shall distinctly specify and number the grounds of objection to the complaint, it shall he overruled.”

It is not objected that the demurrers did not number the ground of objection to the several paragraphs to which they were respectively addressed. It would seem to be clear that where, as in this case, there is but one ground of objection, there is no necessity for numbering •it. Numbering is only required where there are several grounds of objection.

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Bluebook (online)
70 Ind. 290, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/petty-v-board-of-trustees-of-the-church-of-christ-ind-1880.