40 Fla. 109 | Fla. | 1898
The court below erred in overruling appellants’ demurrer to the bill of complaint. If the sale under the decree of the Circuit Court of Nassau county was regular and valid as alleged in the bill of complaint, then the title of appellee derived therefrom was valid and legal and would have constituted a complete legal defense to the action of ejectment sought to be enjoined. If the sale was irregular or invalid, but the appellants by their conduct were estopped from asserting its irregularity or invaliditiy, that estoppel was available as a legal defense to the action of ejectment, under the plea of not guilty. Hagan v. Ellis, 39 Fla. 463, 22 South. Rep. 727. It is an universal rule that equity will not enjoin legal proceedings where the law court is competent to adjudicate, upon proper pleas in the legal action, the matters presented to the court of equity as a ground for injunction. Cohen v. L’Engle, 29 Fla. 579, 11 South. Rep. 47. See, also, same case 24 Fla. 542, 5 South. Rep. 235; Atkinson v. Allen, 17 C. C. A. 570, 71 Fed. Rep. 58; County of Cook v. City of Chicago, 158 Ill. 524, 42 N. E. Rep. 67. This principle applies to actions of ejectment as well as other common law actions. Stockton v. Williams, 1 Doug. (Mich.) 546; Bishop of Chicago v.
The final decree and the order granting injunction are reversed, and the case remanded with directions to sustain the demurrer to the bill, and for such further proceedings as may be consistent with equity and this opinion.