119 Pa. 316 | Pa. | 1888
Opinion,
Tbe assignments of error raise a question of jurisdiction. Tbe action originated before a justice of tbe peace and was
It is true that for certain purposes a trial in the Common Pleas after an appeal from a justice is de novo, but it is nevertheless a trial of the same case. The mechanical work of the trial, such as the formation of the proper issue, the production of the testimony, and the decision of the questions involved, is de novo, but the cause of action remains the same. If the justice had no jurisdiction, an appeal from his judgment does not dispose of the objection, but it may be raised at any time in the Common Pleas. Neither the laches of the defendant nor his consent can give jurisdiction: Collins v. Collins, 37 Pa. 387. The contract set up by the defendant was one which provided for the payment of $900 of the purchase-
Judgment reversed, and venire facias de novo awarded.