Case Name: Hawkins against Hall and others
Court: South Carolina Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: South Carolina
Decision Date: 1802
Citations: 2 Bay 449
Docket Number: 
Parties: Hawkins against Hall and others.
Judges: All the Judges present
Reporter: South Carolina Law Reports
Volume: 2
Pages: 449–449

Head Matter:
Hawkins against Hall and others.
Columbia,
1802.
Where the commissioners in a writ of dower assign to a wi-dowmorelhan hy any vuie of law she is entitled to, 1 lie proceedings ought to he set aside for this iivegtv-larky.
UPON a claim of dower. Motion to reverse the order of the circuit court, setting aside the return of the commissioners, &c.
In this case the commissioners made a very uncertain, return to the writ of dower issued to them, and it was apparent that the)’' had given the widow more than one third of the land she was entitled to, according to their own calculation, to the injury of the heirs and others claiming the residue ; upon which the presiding judge directed all the proceedings to be quashed, upon the ground of this irregularity.
This was a motion to rescind the order of the circuit court, and to confirm the return.

Opinion:
But the Court refused the motion, observing, that whenever it appeared from the return of the commissioners themselves that they had given a widow more than she was entitled to, the proceedings ought to be set aside ; for although the claim of a widow's dower is highly favoured in law, yet there are other parties whose interests ought to be protected by the courts of justice.
Rule dismissed.
All the Judges present