LEGAL DOCUMENT

Case: Battalion Westerly Rifles vs. Horace Swan
Citation: 22 R.I. 333
Court: Supreme Court of Rhode Island
Jurisdiction: Rhode Island
Decision Date: 1901-01-09
Docket Number: 
Pages: 333–334
Volume: 22
Reporter: Rhode Island Reports

Parties: Battalion Westerly Rifles vs. Horace Swan.

Battalion Westerly Rifles vs. Horace Swan.
WASHINGTON
JANUARY 9, 1901.
Present : Stiness, O. J., Tillingbast and Douglas, JJ.
(1) Equity. Mandatory Injunctions. Mo Adequate Bemedy at Low.
A bill seeking a mandatory injunction to compel the return of certain books, which shows the books to have great historic value but no ascertainable value in money and alleges that the complainant has exhausted his remedy at law without effect, states a case for equitable relief.
Bill in Equity for a mandatory injunction. The facts are sufficiently stated in the opinion.
Heard on demurrer to bill, and demurrer overruled.

Per Curiam.
The hill is filed to compel the respondent to return to the complainant certain books of the company which were loaned to the respondent, then a member of the company, for temporary examination. The bill is demui’red to upon the grounds, as presented at the hearing, that the complainant has an adequate remedy at law and the triviality of the subject-matter of the suit.
Such books have no ascertainable value in money, and hence an action for damages would be quite inadequate.
But record-books may have a great value to the complainant company as an account of its history, and the only remedy at law would be an action of replevin. The bill alleges that this has been tried without effect. The complainant’s remedy to proceed in equity is therefore clear. The case is similar in principle to Manton v. Ray, 19 R. I. 423.
Walter H. Barney, for complainant.
Howard A. Lamprey, for respondent.
The character of the books, as set forth in the bill, shows that they are not to be measured by a trivial money value, but are both important and valuable on other grounds.
Demurrer overruled.