Hellawell v Eastwood and Others
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 01 January 1851 |
| Date | 01 January 1851 |
| Court | Exchequer |
English Reports Citation: 155 E.R. 554
IN THE COURTS OF EXCHEQUER AND EXCHEQUER CHAMBER
S C 20 L J Ex 154 Dictum disapproved, Mather v Fraser, 1856, 2 Kay & J 536 Considered, Rey v Lee, 1866, L R 5 Q B 123 Not followed, Crossley v Lee, [1908] 1 K B 86 Questioned, Reynolds v Ashby, [1904] A C 473
hellawell v eastwood and others (a) 1851-By the 2 & .3 Viet c bcxxv fi ^e ^ cout*' t'aml1 f the Honor of Pontefract, in the county of York, was /K-!e7ti/ abolished, and a new court called "The Court of the Honor of I'ontefract," was substituted in its place By the County Courts Act, 9 & 10 Virt c 95, and air Order in Council made in pursuance of that Act, the new conit was abolished - Held, that according to the true constiaction of the several Acts, the old court was not revived, and consequently that a replevin obtained out of that court was void-Machineiy for the puiposes of manufacture,-ex gi "mules" used for spinning cotton-fixed, by means of screws, some into the wooderr floors of a cotton-mill, arrd some by being sunk into the stone floor ing, and secured by molten lead, 01 e at law distramable foi rerrt [S C SOL J Ex 154 Dictum disapproved, jtfatfw; v Fiasei, 1856, 2 Kay & J 5)0 Considered, Rey v Lee, I860, L K 5 Q B 123, Holluml v Hodgton, 1872, L K. 7 C P 328 Distinguished, LmujMlmtt v Beny, I860, L R 5' Q B I2'i Not followed, CiosJey v" Lee, [1908] 1 K B 86 Questioned, Reynolds v Aihfy, [1904] A C 473] Trespass for breaking and entering Apsley Mills, in the possession of the plaintiff, and seizing theiein divers goods, machinery, and fixtures, &c Plea, not guilty by statute Issue thereon I At the trial, before Alderson, B, at the Yoik Spring Assizes, 1850, it appealed (that the plaintiff held the premises in question as tenant of the defendants , and that, after: a distress for rent had been put in by the defendants, under which a seizure was (a) This case was decided in last Michaelmas Vacation, but was omitted in its proper place from \\nnt of spare 6 EX 296 BELLAWELL '(' EASTWOOD 555 made of certain cotton &pinning-[296]-macbrnes, called "mules," some of which wcic fixed by screws to the wooden floor, and some by aciews which had been sunk into holes in the stone flooring, and secured by molten lead poured into them A replevin, without any plaint entered, had been obtained out of the Court of the Honor of Pontefract (within which the mills were situated), arid the possession abandoned , but subsequently, rt being considered that the replevin granted was void, a re-entiy was effected, and the goods, machinery, and fixtures were ultimately sold Evidence was given that the lord of the court baion of Pontefract had, from trme immemorial, exercised the rrght of granting replevins with reference to cases tned in the court, but no proof was grven of any exercise of a franchrse to grant replevins independently of the franchise of holding pleas in cases of replevin On the part of the plaintiff, reference was made to the 17 Geo 3, c 15, 2 & 3 Viet c Ixxxv ,(a)1 and 9 & 10 Viet c [297] 95 , ()ò* and it was contended (a)1 2 & 3 Viet c Ixxxv a 1, enacts, "That from and after the 1st of November, 1839, the present jurisdiction and piactice of the Court Baron of the Honor of Fonte-fraet aforesard, shall (except with respect to the town of Barnsley, and such other parishes, townships, and places within the Honor of Fontefiact, as are also within the jurisdiction of the said Barnsley Lower Court of Requests arid the said Barnsley Upper Court of Kequests), cease and determine (except as to any cause ot matter commenced or pending therein before or on the said last-mentioned day, as to which cause or matter the jurisdiction and practice of the said Court Baron shall continue the same as if this Act had not passed), and thenceforth the said Court shall l o constituted and be a court of record, under the name of "The Court of the Honor of Pontefract" Sect 4 enacts, "That the said Comt of the Honor of Pontefract shall have the same power, practice, arid junsrlictron in piooeedings in replevin as the Court Baion of the Honor of Pontefract now has, and shall be empowered and authonsed to hold pleas of debt, where the debt sought to be ieoo\ered shall not exceed the sum of 151, and all other personal actions arising within the jurisdiction of the said court, where the damages sought to be recovered shall not exceed the sum of 51, and wheie the defendant or defendants in any such action, or any one or more of such defendants, shall, at the time of the commencement of such action, reside within the jurisdiction, 01 keep any house, warehouse, shop, counting-house, stall, 01 other place of business or dealing whatsoever, or otherwise trade or deal therein " Sect 56 enacts, "That at the expiration of six calendar months nett aftei any general Act shall be passed for the recovery of small debts, and the operation of which general Act shall affect or interfere with the poweis given to the said Coiut of the Honor of I'ontefiact by this Act, every clause, matter, and thing in this Act contained, which shall extend, or be construed to extend, to give to the comt hereby appointed any local arid separate jurisdiction, shall cease and determine " (ay J & 10 Viet c 95, s 5, enacts, "That it shall be lawful for her Majesty, with the advice of het Privy Council, to order that any court holden for the recoveiy of small debts or demands, within the provisions of any Act crted in either of the schedules annexed to this Act, and marked (A ) and (13 ) respectively, shall be holden as a County Court, and it shall be lawful for her Majesty, with the advice aforesaid, to assign a distnct to every such court, either greater 01 less than the district in which the comt holden under the provisions of any such Act now has- jurisdiction, and to alter the place of holding any such court, or to order that any such court he abolished , and every such court shall continue to be holden nuclei the Act according to which it is now constituted 01 regulated, until the time mentioned in any such order which shall be made with reference to such court, and from and aftct the time mentioned in any such order, the Act or Acts under which such court is now constituted, so far as the same relate to the establishment or jurisdiction or practice of a court for the recovery of small debts or demands, shall bo repealed, but not so as to revive any Act thereby repealed, and such court so ordeied to be holden sis a County Court shall thenceforth be holden as d County Court undei this Act, and in all respects as if it had been originally constituted undei the provisions of this Act" Sect 6 enacts, "That as soon as a court shall have been established in any district under this Act, and also at the time mentioned in any such order which shall have been made as afoies.ud for holding any of the courts mentioned in eithei of the said 556 HELLAWEr.i, r. kastwood sex 298 that the replevin was valid, and that the present action was maintainable , ul that, at [298] all events, the machines fixed to the floor weie not by law distrarnable On the othei hand, it was uiged that the replevin was void, 01, if valid, that trespass was not the right form of action The learned Judge was of opinion that the Couit of the Hanoi of Pontefiact had wholly ceased to exist, and theiefore th.it the replevin was void ; and a verdict was enteied foi the plaintiff foi 4001 .is , being the value of the fixed machinery which it was contended weie not subject to distress, with hbeity to the plaintrft to move to inciease the \erdict to the sum of 20031, the full value of the goods seized, if the (Joint should be of opinion that the icplevui was valid, and trespass the right foim of action Leave was reserved...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Elitestone Ltd v Morris and Another
...they had had to be taken to pieces in order to be removed and had then been sold as old lead: Niven v. Pitcairn (1823) 2 S. 270. In Hellawell v. Eastwood (1851) 6 Exch. 295, 312, Parke B., in considering the mode and extent of annexation of the articles in that case, referred to the conside......
-
Peel Land and Property (ports No.3) Ltd v Ts Sheerness Steel Ltd
...LJ in the Court of Appeal in the same case, at 209–210. I note however that the statement of principle cited by Romer LJ came from Hellawell v Eastwood (1851) 6 Ex 295 which dealt with the test to be used to distinguish a chattel from a fixture whereas the issue in Spyer v Phillipson and in......
-
Ictor Anstalt (a company registered in Liechtenstein) v Mir Steel UK Ltd and Another
...from anything done by the parties that there was an intention to prevent annexation. 178 I was also referred to Hellawell v Eastwood (1851) 6 Ex 295, a case in which "mules" used to spin cotton, which were fixed to the floor of the mill by screws, some into the wooden floor and some by bein......
-
Chief Assessor & Comptroller of Property Tax v Van Ommeren Terminal (S) Pte Ltd
... ... itself is easily removable or whether cement had been used for fixing the article.In Hellawell v Eastwood , the question which the court had to consider was whether certain cotton-spinning ... ...