Plaintiff sued in the district court of a territory for several
items and recovered judgment for less than amount sued for but over
$5,000 with interest at six percent. Defendant alone sued out writ
of error from the supreme court of the territory, which disallowed
$4,880 of the judgment, including interest at six percent.
Plaintiff then appealed to this Court, and prayed for reinstatement
of the district court judgment and, when the case was reached for
hearing here, assigned as additional error that the district court
had not allowed twenty-five percent, instead of six percent,
interest, which would have made the amount disallowed exceed
$5,000.
Held that plaintiff had not complained of the district
court judgment the only matter in dispute was that part of the
district court judgment which was disallowed by the territorial
supreme court, and, as that was less than $5,000, the appeal to
this Court could not, under the Act of March 3, 1885, 23 Stat. 443,
be maintained.
The facts are stated in the opinion.
MR. CHIEF JUSTICE FULLER delivered the opinion of the Court.
The Territory of New Mexico commenced three separate actions
against appellees, respectively, in the District Court of Grant
County, New Mexico, to recover taxes alleged to be due on a levy to
pay certain judgments against the county, including
Page 201 U. S. 42
a particular item of $276.21, arising from the increase of the
valuation of the property of the railroad companies. The aggregate
amount claimed was $8,646.49, with interest at the rate of
twenty-five percent per annum. The cases were consolidated and
submitted to the district court on an agreed statement of facts
with exhibits attached, a jury being waived, and resulted in a
judgment, October 9, 1902, for $5,156.71 with interest at six
percent per annum. This included the $276.21 with interest.
Appellees sued out writs of error from the supreme court of the
territory. No cross-writ of error was brought and no-cross errors
were assigned. In the supreme court, the item of $276.21 with
interest was not contested. February 26, 1903, the supreme court
announced its conclusion that the judgment be reversed, but, as the
item of $276.21 was not contested, rendered judgment for that
amount, thereby rejecting the sum of $4,880.50 of the judgment
below, that sum with interest at six percent amounting to less than
$5,000 on that date. 11 N.M. 669. From the judgment so rendered,
the territory prosecuted an appeal to this Court under the Act of
Congress in that behalf, January 17, 1905, and prayed in its
assignment of errors that the judgment of the supreme court be
reversed and set aside, and the cause be "remanded to said supreme
court, with directions to affirm the judgment of the District Court
of Grant County." The appeal was heard in this Court on January 26,
1906, and on that day appellant filed an additional assignment of
errors to the effect that the Supreme Court of New Mexico erred in
failing to hold that appellant was entitled to interest at the rate
of twenty-five percent per annum from October 9, 1902. But the
judgment of the district court gave interest at six percent, and,
as before stated, the territory did not complain of that judgment
as rendered.
By the Act of March 3, 1885, 23 Stat. 443, c. 355, no appeal or
writ of error could be allowed from any judgment or decree of the
territorial supreme courts, with certain exceptions not material
here, "unless the matter in dispute, exclusive of costs,
Page 201 U. S. 43
shall exceed the sum of five thousand dollars." The matter in
dispute here was that part of the judgment of the district court
which was disallowed by the supreme court, and that was less than
five thousand dollars.
Appeal dismissed.
