United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Coler v. Cleburne, 131 U.S. 162 (1889)

Coler v. Cleburne

No. 728

Submitted January 3, 1889

Decided May 13, 1889

131 U.S. 162

ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED

STATES FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

Syllabus

Where a case is tried by a Circuit Court on the written waiver of a jury, and there is a bill of exceptions which sets forth the facts which were proved, that is a sufficient special finding of facts to authorize this Court, under § 700 of the Revised Statutes, to determine whether the facts found are sufficient to support the judgment.

A statute of Texas provided that bonds to be issued by a city for erecting water works should be signed by the mayor and forwarded by him to the state comptroller for registration. Bonds issued for that purpose were dated January 1, 1884, but not signed till July 3, I884, and then were not signed by the mayor, but, under a resolution of the city council, were signed by a private citizen who had been mayor on January 1, 1884, but had gone out of office in April, 1884, and been succeeded by a new mayor, and who appended the word "mayor" to his signature. The bonds stated on their face that they were authorized by a statute of Texas and an ordinance of the city, specifying both. In a suit against the city to recover on coupons cut from the bonds, brought by a bona fide holder of them,