Village of Glencoe v. County of McLeod

Money Wrongfully Received — Statute of Limitations — Demand.— Where one wrongfully receives the money of another, a cause of action to recover it accrues to the latter without any demand. Applied to a case where village authorities paid into the county treasury money of the village upon an agreement with the county commissioners, void because the latter had no power to make it.

Plaintiff brought this action in April, 1888, in the district court for McLeod county, to recover money paid by it to defendant. The defendant appeals from an order by Echón, J., overruling its demurrer to the complaint, the allegations of which are in substance as follows, to wit: In 1876, for the purpose of providing a suitable hall for the use of the plaintiff and a suitable court-house for the use of the defendant, the parties to this action undertook to make an agreement whereby plaintiff agreed to pay to the defendant, in land and money, $2,500, and defendant agreed, in consideration thereof, to construct a building to be used jointly by plaintiff and defendant for public purposes, upon certain specified terms and conditions. In performance of this agreement, plaintiff, in 1876, paid to defendant, in land and money, $2,500, and defendant caused the building to be erected, and it was thereafter jointly occupied by the parties until September 15,1887, when plaintiff was ejected from it by defendant. Thereupon the plaintiff, claiming that the agreement made in 1876 was void on the part of defendant, on November 10, 1887, demanded a return of said sum of $2,500, which was refused.