Case Name: McMeans v. Cameron
Court: Iowa Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Iowa
Decision Date: 1878-12-05
Citations: 51 Iowa 691
Docket Number: 
Parties: McMeans v. Cameron.
Judges: 
Reporter: Iowa Reports
Volume: 51
Pages: 691–693

Head Matter:
McMeans v. Cameron.
1. Jurisdiction : action erroneously entertained : effect of appeal. Where a justice of tlie peace erroneously entertains an action, the subject-matter of which is beyond his jurisdiction, the Circuit Court will not acquire jurisdiction by an appeal, even though as an original liroceeding the action might have been properly commenced in that court.
App>eal from Jones Circuit Court.
Thursday, December 5, 1878.
This action was commenced before a justice of the peace in Jones county by attachment of property. The defendant is a resident of Benton county. He appeared and moved to dismiss the action because of such fact, which motion was overruled, and thereupon he filed an answer denying the allegations of the petition. There was a trial, and the justice rendered judgment for the plaintiff, whereupon the defendant appealed to the Circuit Court, in which court the motion to dismiss, made before the justice, was renewed, and same sustained, and judgment rendered against plaintiff for costs. He appeals.
J. Q. Wing, for appellant.
Remley é Ercanbrack, for appellee.

Opinion:
Seevers, J.
— The ruling of the Circuit Court is in accord with Gates v. Wagner, 46 Iowa, 355, and Hamilton v. Millhouse, Id., 74, unless the filing of an answer before the justice makes a difference between those cases and the one at bar. But it was held in Boyer v. Moore, 42 Iowa, 544, that "under the Code the justice of the peace lacks jurisdiction of the subject-matter in such case." The rule is well established that consent never confers jurisdiction over the subject-matter of an action.
Aeeirmed.