Squire v. McDonald

The judgments from which the appeals in these -cases have been taken involve amounts less than $500, and an order was obtained from the general term giving leave to the defendants to appeal to this court. This motion is made in behalf of the respondent to dismiss the appeals on the ground that the order giving leave to appeal does not state any ground. Subdivision 3 of § 191 of the Code of Civil Procedure explicitly provides that an appeal cannot be taken from a judgment if the matter in controversy is less than $500, unless the court below, by an order made at the general term which rendered the determination, or at the next general term after judgment is entered thereupon, allows the appeal on the ground that a question of law is involved which ought to be reviewed by the court of appeals. So much of the provision as requires that the order should state the ground mentioned had been enacted by the legislature in chapter 322 of the Daws of 1874. In the case of Bastable v. The City of Syracuse, 72 N. Y. 64 , this court had occasion to consider the form of the order prescribed by the act of 1874, and held, because the order of the -general term in that case was lacking in the statement of the ground which is lacking in the order in this case, that it was not a compliance with the act of 1874, and dismissed the appeal. The -decision in that case is authority for the dismissal of these appeals.

The appellants object that Mr. Wilder, who as attorney for the