Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

99 Pa. 310

Smaltz's Appeal

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Decided January 30, 1882

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · decided 1882-01-30

3, of Philadelphia county: In Equity : Of July Term 1881, No. 28. Appeal by Theophilus Smaltz, from a decree of the said court, requiring him to perform specifically an agreement in writing to purchase certain real estate.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1882-01-30

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions — most recently July 1981

5 state decisions

1018821890190019101920193019401950196019701980decided

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.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Mr. Justice Mercur

¶1delivered the opinion of the Court, January 30th 1882.

¶2The Act of 16th June 1836 affords specific relief in equity only when a recovery in damages will be an inadequate remedy. That our courts will not entertain equity jurisdiction to give such relief where there is an adequate remedy at law, is well settled. Care should be taken that there be no unnecessary encroachment on the province of the courts of common law: McGowin v. Remington, 2 Jones 63; Strasburg Railroad Co. v. Echternacht, 9 Harris 21; Gallagher v. Fayette County R. R. Co., 2 Wright 102; Clark’s Appeal, 12 P. F. Smith 447. Where a bill by a vendor for specific performance is simply to enforce payment of the purchase money, it will not be entertained : Kauffman’s Appeal, 5 Id. 383; Dech’s Appeal, 7 Id. 467.

¶3The relief sought in this case is clearly wifhin the rule which denies equity jurisdiction. It is to compel the appellant *313to pay for the land, the sum he agreed to pay therefor, on the contingency which has happened. After tendering a deed, an action at law will give to the appellees, a full, complete and adequate remedy for a recovery of the purchase money, to which they may be entitled. The learned jndge therefore erred in not sustaining the demurrer.

¶4Decree reversed and set aside, and bill dismissed at the costs of the appellees.

/99/pa/310 · .json · Public domain