Haseltine v. Central Bank of Springfield, Missouri, 183 U.S. 130 (1901)

Haseltine v. Central Bank of Springfield, Missouri

No. 62

Submitted October 29, 1901
Decided December 2, 1901
183 U.S. 130

ERROR TO THE SUPREME COURT

OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI

Syllabus

The judgment of the Supreme Court of a state reversing that of the court below, and remanding the case for further proceedings to be had therein, is not a final judgment, nor is this Court at liberty to consider whether such judgment was an actual final disposition of the merits of the case. The face of the judgment is the test of its finality.

This was an action brought originally in the Circuit Court for Greene county, Missouri, by the Haseltines against the Central National Bank, to recover double the amount of certain alleged usurious interest paid by the plaintiffs to defendant, and which they sought to recover under the second clause of Rev.Stat. sec. 5198, providing that

in case the greater rate of interest has been paid, the person by whom it has been paid, or his legal representatives, may recover back, in an action in the nature of an action of debt, twice the amount of the interest thus paid from the association taking or receiving the same.

The trial court rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs for $831.70. From this judgment defendant appealed to the supreme court of the state, which reversed the judgment of the trial court upon the ground that the plaintiffs had neither paid nor tendered the principal sum due, and remanded the cause "for further proceedings to be had therein, in conformity with the opinion of this Court herein delivered."

Defendant moved to dismiss the writ of error upon the ground that this was not a final judgment.