Maryland Reports; Cases Adjudged in the Court of Appeals of Maryland Volume 123 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1914 edition. Excerpt: ...filed by twelve of the original petitioners. admitting that the bottoms. declared to be barren by the 1908 proceedings were natural bars and denying that they ever admitted, or intended to admit. that all of said bot-toms were barren. Answers were filed by twenty-two of the original petitioners. denying that the petition was filed without their Md_ Opinion of the Court..knowledge and consent. It appears that in several instances the same defendant signed both classes of answers. The appellees had the plea of the appellant set down for argument and the Court overruled the plea, with leave to file an amended answer. We have no doubt but that this was a proper ruling. It will be noticed that the relief prayed in the bill did not embrace any prayer that the bars, declared in the proceedings of 1908 to be barren, should be determined to be natural bars. but that the order declaring them to be barren should be vacated, because procured through fraud. The efl'ect, upon such relief being granted, would have been merely to set aside the original order and the leases made in pursuance thereof. It was not proper, therefore, to raise any defense they might have had under the proceedings of 1908 by a plea, thus pre senting a question of law, but to have availed themselves of v this defense by way of an answer. See Miller-'s Equity, sec. 147. I n our opinion the only question presented by the pleadings is whether the Court had jurisdiction to pass the order of 1908 and if so were the proceedings free from fraud. The Act wnferring jurisdiction provided that the finding of the "Court should be final, and, therefore, this Court would have no power to review the findings therein unless the lower Court exceeded its jurisdiction. Of course a Court...