CURRIDEN
v.
MIDDLETON
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
A patent lawyer represented to his client that a patent and apparatus were valuable and that he was acting as agent for the patentees, inducing the client to invest approximately forty thousand dollars in acquiring the patent rights, but the patent proved worthless and the representations were false. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower courts' dismissal of an equity bill seeking restitution, holding that because the plaintiff sought damages for money paid to third parties rather than rescission or recovery of a specific fund, the proper remedy was an action at law, not equity, and that mere factual complexity does not confer equity jurisdiction.
© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Mr. Justice Holmes delivered the opinion of the court.
This is a bill in equity against the defendant Middleton and two others not served, to which Middleton demurred. The demurrer was sustained and the bill dismissed by the Supreme Court of the District and the decree was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. 37 App. D. C. 568. The allegations in brief are that Middleton was a patent lawyer and personal Mend of the plaintiff, that he brought to the plaintiff’s attention a patent fluid and apparatus representing them to be valuable, with details of fact confirming the statement, and representing that Middleton was acting as agent of the patentees; that the plaintiff relying upon the representations, paid money and incurred obligations, amounting in all to some forty thoúsand dollars, all he had, for purchase of the patent rights, with an agreement that a company should be formed to work them; that a company was formed, but that it turned out that the fluid and apparatus were worthless, that Middleton was interested in the patent, and that his representations were false. It is alleged further that Middleton got complete control of the company, that an arrangement was made with it by which the company was to assume and pay outstanding notes of the plaintiff but that it failed to do so and' is now hopelessly insolvent; that all Middleton’s acts were parts of a conspiracy to defraud the plaintiff, and that Middleton has all the books and papers of the company needed to prove the fraud. The prayers are for discovery and a decree that the.defendants “shall make due restitution [of his property] to the complainant by paying to him the amounts of money by him paid out as aforesaid,” and for "reneral relief.
As there is a prayer for final relief the prayer for discovery must stand or fall with that, at least in a case like the present; there is no need to consider whether or how far bills for discovery alone have been displaced by the powers now given in actions at law. The relief sought is simply a decree for damages — for a large part of the moneys paid and obligations incurred were paid and incurred to-others than Middleton,. so that although the word restitution is used there is no-attempt to rescind, to follow a specific fund or to establish a trust. Being a. suit for damages the proper remedy is an action at law, as was held below. Buzard v. Houston, 119 U. S. 347. It is said that the facts are complicated, but they are not so on the allegations of the bill, which merely disclose a series of acts alleged to have been parts of the plan to deceive, and further, mere complication of facts alone and difficulty ^of proof are not a basis of equity jurisdiction. See United States v. Bitter Boot Development Co., 200 U. S. 451, 472. It now is asked that if the suit cannot be main-' tained in equity it may be transferred to the law side and under Equity Rule 22; but that rule has no application to the case. Rev. Stat., § 913. D. C. Code, (act of March 3,1901, c. 854), § 85. 31 Stat. 1189,1202.
Decree affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
-
Ross v. Bernhard, 396 U.S. 531 (U.S. 1970)…ry to decide [*543] whether the corporation’s other claims are also properly triable to a jury. Dairy Queen, Inc. v. Wood, 369 U. S. 469 (1962). The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed. It is so ordered. See, e. g., Curriden v. Middleton, 232 U. S. 633 (1914); Whitehead v. Shattuck, 138 U. S. 146 (1891); 5 J. Moore, Federal Practice ¶ 38.11 [5] (2d ed. 1969). 1 W. Blackstone, Commentaries *475; cf. Bank of Columbia v. Patterson’s Adm’r, 7 Cranch 299 (1813); Bank of Kentucky v. Wister, 2 Pet. 318…
-
Twist v. Prairie OIL & GAS Co., 274 U.S. 684 (U.S. 1927)…e Perego v. Dodge, 163 U. S. 160, 164. Formerly, if a plaintiff in a federal court sued in equity and the objection that there was a plain, adequate and complete remedy at law was sustained, the bill was necessarily dismissed. Curriden v. Middleton, 232 U. S. 633. And ordinarily the dismissal was required to be without prejudice to an action at law, Horsburg v. Baker, 1 Pet. 232, 237; Thompson v. Railroad Companies, 6 Wall. 134, 139; Van Norden v. Morton, 99 U. S. 378, 382; Rogers v. Durant, 106 U. S. 644; S…
-
In re U. S. Fin. Sec. Litig. Michael Fabrikant & Milton Binswanger v. Bache & Co., 609 F.2d 411 (9th Cir. 1979)…2d 686, 690 (9th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 829, 98 S.Ct. 109, 54 L.Ed.2d 88. . In fact, the court below, relying upon United States v. Bitter Root Development Co., 200 U.S. 451, 26 S.Ct. 318, 50 L.Ed. 550 (1906), and Curriden v. Middleton, 232 U.S. 633, 34 S.Ct. 458, 58 L.Ed. 765 (1914), correctly concluded that mere complication of facts was not sufficient to confer equity jurisdiction based on an equitable accounting theory. 75 F.R.D. at 709. . The entire passage where Mr. Justice Black discuss…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Buzard v. Houston, 119 U.S. 347 (U.S. 1886)
- Kirby v. Lake Shore & Mich. S. R.R., 120 U.S. 130 (U.S. 1887)
- United States v. Bitter Root Dev. Co., 200 U.S. 451 (U.S. 1906)
- Tyler v. Savage, 143 U.S. 79 (U.S. 1892)