Case ID: mass_77/html/0436-01.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

George M. Allen & others vs. Roland Turner & others.
    A town must be a party to a bill in equity to restrain its treasurer from paying out money voted at legal meetings of the town for illegal purposes.
    Bill in equity, alleging that the inhabitants of Scituate, at legal town meetings, had voted to dispense with a school committee for this year, and appointed a prudential committee and directed them to visit the schools and contract with school teachers, and authorized, the treasurer of the town to pay bills certified by them, and appointed a committee to defend and prosecute in behalf of the town any suits arising out of carrying these votes into effect; and alleging that such votes were illegal, and praying for an injunction.
    The only defendants named in the bill were the prudential committee, and the committee appointed to-carry out the votes of the town. The defendants demurred, because the plaintiffs had not made “ the inhabitants of the said town of Scituate, in their corporate capacity, a party defendant to the said bill.”
    
      E. Ames, for the defendants,
    cited Story Eq. Pl. § 76; Simmons v. Hanover, 23 Pick. 188; St. 1847, c. 37; Cushing v. Stoughton, 6 Cush. 389.
    
      P. Simmons, for the plaintiffs,
    cited Tash v. Adams, 10 Cush. 252.
   The Court sustained the demurrer, and allowed the plaintiffs, on motion, to amend their bill by making the town a party, and to take out a new summons accordingly.