Orandorf v. Welch

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Orandorf's Petition of Appeal


Orandorf v. Welch (February 18, 1791) is a brief decision by Wythe as Judge of the Hight Court of Chancery granting Orandorf's Petition of Appeal and awarding the petitioner a supersedeas bond.[1] Orandorf's Petition of Appeal is written in John Marshall's hand and was filed on Orandorf's behalf in the High Court of Chancery.[2]

Background

The representatives of Michael Welch's estate sued Orandorf and the representatives of Henry Cookus in Berkeley County Court. A decree from the court had set aside Orandorf’s purchase contract for property in Berkeley County, and Orandorf's petition alleged the property had been purchased fairly and his firm contract set aside without notice.

Orandorf's petition alleged manifest error in the court’s decree and argued that even if Orandorf had not been a resident of Berkeley County -- which Orandorf insisted was untrue -- Orandorf had had no time to set aside the decree, as allowed by the law in the cases of decrees against non-residents. Additionally, Welch had offered no security in the absence of an opportunity to set aside the decree.

Orandorf petitioned for an appeal from the decree to the High Court of Chancery and asked the Court to issue a supersedeas bond to reverse and supersede enforcement of the decree.

The Court's Decision

With minimal discussion, Wythe granted the petition of appeal and awarded Orandorf a supersedeas bond, with surety, in the penalty of £100.

See also

References

  1. Petition of Appeal by Christian Orandorf (Feb. 18, 1791) (on file with the Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections, The John M. Woolsey Collection of Legal Documents, Box 1, Documents in the Case of Orandorf v. Welch with signatures of George Wythe and John Marshall), available at http://archives.law.virginia.edu/records/mss/78-6/digital/1114.
  2. Orandorf v. Welch's Administrators, Petition of Appeal, in 2 The Papers of John Marshall: Correspondence and Papers, July 1788—December 1795; Account Book, July 1788—December 1795 110 (Charles T. Cullen & Herbert A. Johnson, eds., 1977).