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79 Ark. 263

Hempstead County v. Phillips

Supreme Court of Arkansas

Decided June 4, 1906

Supreme Court of Arkansas · decided 1906-06-04

Error from Hempstead Circuit Court; Joel D. Conway, Judge; statement by the court. Appellee presented to the county court of Hempstead County an account as follows: “Hempstead County to J. W. Phillips, Dr. “For expenses incurred in opening and repairing the vault door of the County Treasurer’s safe.” Then follows an itemized statement of what was done and the charge for each item, amounting in the aggregate to $261. The account was duly verified.

Relies on Railway Co. v. Amos · Wiegel v. Pulaski County · McKinney v. Demby

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

affirmed · Decided 1906-06-04

How this case has been cited

Cited by 6 later decisions — most recently December 1942

6 state decisions

3019061910192019301940decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Wood, J.,

¶1(after stating the facts.) In Wiegel v. Pulaski County, 61 Ark. 74, this court, in passing upon the judgment of the circuit court sustaining a demurrer to an account that had been presented to the county court for allowance, said: “No formal pleadings were filed in the case, and none were required. A demurrer does not lie to a claim presented to the county court for allowance.” Under this decision a claim which appears upon its face to be an improper charge against the county might by the proof be shown to be a correct charge. The matter is left open for the determination of the court upon the evidence adduced.

¶2It appears from the record that “this cause is by consent submitted to the court sitting as a jury, and, after hearing the evidence, the court finds that the defendant, Hempstead County, is justly indebted to the plaintiff, John W. Phillips, in the sum of $261 for money advanced for the use and benefit of the defendant, and that plaintiff is entitled to recover said sum of and from the defendant,” etc. It will be observed that the court, after “hearing the evidence,” finds as above set forth. What the evidence was is not set forth in the record. Therefore we must presume that every fact necessary to sustain the finding and judgment of the court was proved that could have been proved. Tucker v. Hawkins, 72 Ark. 21; Curtis v. Des Jardins, 55 Ark. 126; Ry. Co. v. Amos, 54 Ark. 159; Hershy v. Baer, 45 Ark. 240; McKinney v. Demby, 44 Ark. 74; Perry v. Cunningham, 40 Ark. 185.

¶3It is easy to see that evidence might have been adduced before the trial court to show that appellee’s claim was a valid demand against the county. For instance, it might have been shown that the safe repaired was the property of the county, that it was in need of repairs, that an appropriation had been duly made for that specific purpose, and that appellee had been expressly authorized by the county court to make such repairs and had done so, or that he was expressly authorized by the county court to advance the money for such repairs, and that he had done so upon an express contract with the county court for reimbursement. Such proof would have shown the legality of appellee’s claim.

¶4No error appearing upon the face of the record, the judgment is affirmed.

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