United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Smith v. Adams, 130 U.S. 167 (1889)

Smith v. Adams

No. 1498

Submitted March 11, 1889

Decided April 1, 1889

130 U.S. 167

APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT

OF THE TERRITORY OF DAKOTA

Syllabus

The validity of an election to determine the county seat of a county in Dakota under the laws of the Territory, when presented to the courts in the form prescribed by those laws, becomes a subject of action within the jurisdiction of the territorial court, whose judgment thereon is subject to appeal to the Supreme Court of the Territory.

"By the matter in dispute," as that phrase is used in the statutes conferring jurisdiction on this Court, is meant the subject of litigation, the matter

Page 130 U. S. 168

upon which the action is brought and issue is joined, and in relation to which, if the issue be one of fact, testimony is taken, and its pecuniary value may he determined not only by the money judgment prayed, but in some cases by the increased or diminished value of the property directly affected by the relief prayed or by the pecuniary result to one of the parties immediately from the judgment.