Case Name: Anonymous
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: New Jersey
Decision Date: 1824-05
Citations: 7 N.J.L. 192
Docket Number: 
Parties: *Anonymous.
Judges: 
Reporter: New Jersey Law Reports
Volume: 7
Pages: 232–233

Head Matter:
*Anonymous.
1. A mandamus will be granted to compel a township committee to assign a road to the overseers of the highways.
2 But it will not be granted until after the committee have had due notice of the motion for a mandamus.
. Jeffers, in pursuance of a rule to shew cause, taken at the last term, applied for a mandamus, to be directed to the township committee of Lower Penn’s Heck, in the county of Salem, to compel them to assign and appoint, in writing, to the overseers of the highways, respectively, their several limits and divisions of the highways within such township, for opening, clearing out, working and amending the same, as by law they were bound to do under the act (Dev. Laws 621, see. 14); and he read a statement of facts, agreed upon by the adverse counsel, upon which his application was founded; but as the application was refused upon a collateral objection, it is unnecessary to state the facts. — To shew that the court had the power to grant a mandamus in a case of this kind, he cited Com Dig. Mand. litle 22; 4 Bac. Abr. title Mand. letter C. 500; Jac. Law Diet, title Mand.
Dayton, contra,
objected to the application, because he had no notice of it. He said, that the copy of the rule to shew cause, which had been served upon the township committee, was, that they should shew cause why a mandamus should not issue against them to compel them to open the road. He had come prepared to resist a mandamus of that kind, upon the ground, that it was not their .duty to open a road; but of the present application, viz., to compel the committee to assign the road, the committee had notice, and therefore he should resist the application on that ground.

Opinion:
Kirkpatrick, O. J.
The principal object of taking a rule •to shew cause, is, in order that the other party may do the thing required without subjecting himself to the expense of a mandamus. But here the rule served upon the committee does not specify the object required to be done with sufficient particularity. The rule is, to shew cause why they should not open the road *and the application is, to compel them to assign, &c.; therefore the mandamus in this case cannot, for that reason, be granted, although that the court have a right to grant a mandamus in a subject matter of this kind, there can be no doubt.
Mandamus refused.
See the form of a mandamus to the overseers of highways, 1 Cow. Rep. 22. note. See. also, other forms of mandamus, Lil. Ent. 247, 613. See. also, the case of The People v. The Commissioners of Salem, 1 Cow Rep. 23.