The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-11-14
TWENTY ACRES OF LAND
Ejectment Suit to Determine Owner
of a Property Of That Size.
INTERESTING LEGAL BATTLE
Distinguished Attorneys Who Are Trying
the Case for Plaintiff and Defend.
ants Case of Moran Against Leon.
ard Will Go to the Jury Today.

A legal battle that will prove most
interesting opened in court room No.
before Judge Gunster yesterday after
noon, and in all probability will occupy
the attention of the court for several
days. The action is one in ejectment
and is brought by the Mutual Life In
surance company against o. s. John
son, the coal operator, and Mrs. Cath
arine Winton to obtain possession of
twenty acres of land in the Thirteenth
ward Of this city, which Is valued at
upward of $4,000
Mr.. Johnson is mining the coal from
under this land in accordance of lease
with Mrs. Winton. The plaintiff COM
pany Is represented hv, City Solicitor
Torrey and Attorney ) rman, of Phil
adelphia, and the defe idants by ex-
Judge Harding and ex-Attorney Gen
eral H. w. Palmer, both of Wilkes
Barre. The cause of the present action
is briefly as follows:
All Due to a Loan.
Away back in the seventies the Mu-
tual Life Insurance company lent a
sum of money to A. b. Dunning and
took as security for it bond and mort
gage on his property at Elmhurst, then
known as Cummings. w. w. Winton
was security for Mr.. Dunning on the
mortgage. The debt was not paid and
the property was sold, but sufficient
money was not realized to pay the
amount due the insurance company
and 1t began proceedings against Mr..
Winton to compel him as security to
make good the deficit. The Green Ridge
land now in dispute was levied on as
his property and sold, the insurance
company becoming the purchaser.
1t never obtained possession of the
property, as it was claimed that it was
not owned by W. w. Winton at the
time the sale was made 1t is con-
tended that w. w. Winton owed his
wife Catharine large sum Of Noney,
and that some time prior to = levy
made at the instance of the zee
company he confessed judgmel.. - her
and the property was sold to satisfy the
claim, Mrs. Winton becoming the pur-
chaser, This sale, the plaintiff will en-
| deavor to show, was a fraud. But little
testimony was heard yesterday, and at
o'clock court adjourned for the day.
This morning Mr.. and Mrs. Winton
will be put on the stand.
Moran.Leonard Suit.
| In the main court room, before Judge
Archibald the suit of ]. j. Moran
against B. E. Leonard was tried yes
terday. Moran sues to recover for
work done in erecting a brick stack for
boilers used to heat the Holy Rosary
church buildings at Providence.
Mr.. Leonard refused to pay, for the
reason, as he believes, that his contract
did not provide that he should have the
stack erected. His contract he says,
was to provide the boilers and build
ing to cover them, nothing else, and he
believes that Mr.. Moran should apply
to Rev. N. j. McManus, the rector Of
Holy Rosary church, for his pay for
| the stack. All of the testimony had
| been heard when court adjourned for
the
Mr. Moran is represented by Attor-
neys H. NJ. Hannah and T. ]. Duggan
and the defendant by Major Everett
Warren and Attorney G. H. Welles.
The case will be given to the jury this
morning.
Mills Against Holtham.
Hugh Mills, of New street, was the
plaintiff in a suit tried before Judge
in No. 2. Thomas Holtham, a Penn
avenue wholesale liquor dealer, was the
defendant. In 1892 Mr.. Holtham con-
Quoted hotel on Capouse avenue and
employed Mills to do some work about
his home, at Green, for which the
plaintiff claimed he was entitled to
$24.75
AS an offset to this bill the defendant
alleges that Mills obtained food and
drink at his hotel far in excess Of what
the wages claim amounted to. The jury
gave verdict for the full amount of
Mills claim.
| WAS NOT ARCHIBALD'S WIFE,