Rigsby v. Ruraldale Consolidated School District No. 64

• Decision Date: 14 October 1929
• Docket Number: 136
• Citation: 20 S.W.2d 624,180 Ark. 122
• Parties: RIGSBY v. RURALDALE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 64
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

20 S.W.2d 624

180 Ark. 122

RIGSBY v. RURALDALE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 64

No. 136

Supreme Court of Arkansas

October 14, 1929

Appeal from Garland Chancery Court; W. R. Duffie, Chancellor affirmed.

Judgment affirmed.

Houston Emory and B. H. Randolph, for appellant.

C T. Cotham, for appellee.

OPINION

HUMPHREYS, J.

This suit was brought by appellant in the chancery court of Garland County, for the benefit of himself and others to enjoin appellees from constructing a school building upon the site purchased by the directors of Ruraldale Consolidated District No. 64, for the alleged reasons:

That the bonds authorized to be issued to raise a fund to make said improvements were sold below par, contrary to § 8984 of Crawford & Moses' Digest; and, (2) that the directors and officers of the district were about to proceed to build the school building upon a site in said consolidated district not first authorized by an election held in accordance with law.

A number of defenses were interposed, but it will only be necessary, in our view of the case, to set out the defense of res judicata interposed by appellees, which is as follows:

"Further answering, these defendants state that this is the second suit in this court for the purpose of enjoining the issuance of said bonds, and the selection of said school site, and the building of a schoolhouse for said district on said school site. That on the 9th day of January, 1929, in a certain cause pending in this court, numbered 9740 on the chancery docket, wherein R. M. Johnson was plaintiff, and the directors of Ruraldale Consolidated School District No. 64 et al. were defendants, this court rendered a final order or decree, finding that the site selected by the board of directors of said district is approximately in the center of the school population of said district; that said board had a right to borrow money and issue bonds for the building of said schoolhouse, and had a right and did exercise the right to select a site for the building, having purchased the real property upon which to build the same. These defendants therefore state that the matters now sought to be litigated in this action by the plaintiff have already been determined by this court adverse to plaintiff, and they state the decree rendered by this court in said action, numbered 9740 on the chancery docket, and found of record in chancery record book W at page 534, is res judicata as to all matters involved in this suit. That, in said suit lately determined in this court, notice was given of an appeal to the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas, and that said appeal is still pending and undetermined."

In support...