United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Wells v. Goodnow's Administrator, 150 U.S. 84 (1893)

Wells v. Goodnow's Administrator

No. 160

Submitted October 10, 1893

Decided October 16, 1893

150 U.S. 84

Syllabus

This case is dismissed upon the authority of Chapman v. Goodnow's Administrator, 123 U. S. 540.

Motion to dismiss. This action was commenced in the Supreme Court of Iowa to recover taxes that had been paid by the Iowa Homestead Company while in possession and occupancy of land in Iowa, which was afterwards adjudged to have been at that time the property of the defendant. Judgment in the trial court for the plaintiff, which was affirmed by the supreme court of the state on appeal. In announcing its judgment, that court said:

"The facts in this case are the same as in Goodnow v. Stryker, 61 Ia. 261, and following that case, the judgment of the district court must be affirmed. There are members of the court who think the cited case was incorrectly decided, but under the well settled rule of stare decisis, they think we must adheres thereto, especially so because of the many peculiar facts and many cases which have been determined by the court based on the subject matter upon which this action is grounded."

The defendant below thereupon sued out a writ of error to this Court, which writ the defendant in error moved to dismiss on the ground that no federal question was involved.