(DOWNLOAD) "Mcchesney v. Moore" by District of Columbia Court of Appeals. " Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Mcchesney v. Moore
- Author : District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
- Release Date : January 25, 1951
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 52 KB
Description
CLAGETT, Associate Judge. The Municipal Court dismissed three separately stated counterclaims of defendant interposed in an
action brought by plaintiff-landlord for rent and water charges. Apparently (although the record is indefinite on the subject)
the first counterclaim over which the Municipal Court undoubtedly has jurisdiction was dismissed as being too indefinite and
the other two counterclaims, each of which was within the $3,000 jurisdictional limit of the trial court but which in the
aggregate exceeded such limit, apparently were dismissed as being beyond the jurisdiction of the court. 1 In dismissing
the counterclaims, however, the trial court gave leave to amend each of them. Instead of amending or refusing to amend, defendant
appealed from the order of dismissal and also filed with the trial court a stipulation, signed by counsel for both plaintiff
and defendant, extending the time within which the counterclaims might be amended 'to and including five days after Disposition
and termination of her appeal.' Although the trial court was not a party to this stipulation, it seems to us that there is
such a lack of finality in the entire proceedings below as to prevent this from being an appealable order within the meaning
of the statute regarding appeals to this court. 2 It has often been stated that it is not within the province of appellate
courts to decide abstract, hypothetical or moot questions, disconnected with the granting of actual relief or from the determination
of which no practical relief can follow. It has also been properly said that an appellate court will not consider a fictitious
case submitted merely for testing the right to do a particular thing and on the same principle the general rule is well settled
that if, pending an appeal, an event occurs which renders it impossible for the appellate court to grant any relief, or renders
a decision unnecessary, the question becomes moot and the appeal will be dismissed. A question may be rendered moot by the
action of the parties themselves. 3 We have concluded that the order appealed from is not a final order and therefore that the appeal must be dismissed. We nevertheless
think it appropriate in the interest of the speedy administration of Justice to mention certain considerations which occur
to us, not as expressive of a final opinion but merely as suggestive of the field of investigation. We do so because we can
not determine now what amendments may be offered by defendant, because at least some of the considerations mentioned below
may not arise, because the parties have not argued the case on the basis of most of the cases from other jurisdictions mentioned
below, and because the parties may unknowingly prejudice their rights.