A decree in a court below reversing a decree where, on a bill to
foreclose a mortgage, a court below it had decreed in favor of the
complainant and "remanding" the case to such inferior court for
"such other and further proceedings as to law and justice shall
appertain" is not a final decree within either the Judiciary Act of
1789 or the Act of 1867 amendatory of it. A writ taken on a
contrary assumption dismissed.
On motion by Mr. R. E. Williams (the plaintiff in error himself
opposing), to dismiss a writ of error to the Supreme Court of
Illinois, the ground of the motion being that no final judgment or
decree had been rendered.
MR. JUSTICE SWAYNE stated the case and delivered the opinion of
the Court.
The suit was a bill in equity, filed by Robbins in the Circuit
Court of De Witt County to foreclose a mortgage. That court decreed
in favor of complainant. The defendants removed the case by appeal
to the supreme court of the state. There the decree of the lower
court was reversed and the case was "remanded to the circuit court
for such other and further proceedings as to law and justice shall
appertain." The ground of reversal does not appear in the record. A
rehearing was applied for by the defendants and granted by the
court. The case was reheard and the former decree was affirmed. The
defendants thereupon prosecuted this writ and are the plaintiffs in
error in this Court.
Both the Judiciary Act of 1789 [
Footnote 1] and the amendatory act of 1867 [
Footnote 2] limit the jurisdiction of this
Court in this class of cases to final judgments and decrees. The
decree of the Supreme Court of Illinois before us is not of that
character. [
Footnote 3]
Writ dismissed.
[
Footnote 1]
Section 25, 1 Stat. at Large 85.
[
Footnote 2]
14
id. 585.
[
Footnote 3]
Brown v. Union Bank of
Florida, 4 How. 465;
Pepper v.
Dunlap, 5 How. 51;
Tracy v.
Holcombe, 24 How. 426.