UNIV. OF MICH. LAW LIBRARY A TREATISE ON THE LIMITATION OF ACTIONS AT LAW AND IN EQUITY By H. G. WOOD Author of "The Law of Nuisances," "Master and Servant,' ""Fire Insurance," "Landlord and Tenant," 46 Law of Railroads," Etc. THIRD EDITION By JOHN M. GOULD, Ph. D. Author of "Waters," Joint Author of "Gould and Tucker's Notes on the U. S. Statutes,' FOURTH EDITION REVISED AND ENLARGED By DEWITT C. MOORE, of the New York Bar 37775 IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I. MB ALBANY, N. Y. MATTHEW BENDER & COMPANY, INCORPORATED. COPYRIGHT, 1882, BY H. G. WOOD. COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY THE BOSTON BOOK COMPANY. COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY THE BOSTON BOOK COMPANY. COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY MATTHEW BENDER & COMPANY, WM. BOYD PRINTING CO. PREFACE TO FOURTH EDITION. The present edition of Mr. Wood's valuable treatise upon the Law of Limitations is considered a useful undertaking, not be cause of radical changes in statutory enactments since the last edition, but because the number of decided cases since then has be come so great as to require that they should be collated, analyzed, and systematically arranged for the convenient use of the profession. When one reflects upon the fact that the litigation of the last fifteen years has furnished nearly seven thousand cases to be added to the history of the law upon this subject, it can be readily seen that the development of the law of limitations by the courts has kept pace with that of many other important branches of the law, and that the practitioner has need to become conversant with the work of the courts in recent years. In this edition, because of this mass of judicial interpretation and application of the varying statutes of different jurisdictions, and the desirability of retaining the benefit of the exhaustive labors of the author of the original treatise and the valuable notes of Mr. Gould, added to the third edition, it has been thought best to arrange the new matter in new text and notes, instead of taking from and adding to the original sections and notes, thus making the already copious and lengthy notes cumbersome and ineffective for practical use in professional work. The added sections of new text and notes, which discuss many new and interesting questions, outnumber the original, and have necessarily greatly enlarged the contents and scope of the work. A most important and useful feature of this edition is the verification of the citations and the supplying of the parallel citations to the official and unofficial reports, which were lacking in former editions a work of patient labor which cannot fail to be appreciated by the practitioner who finds these volumes thus made more serviceable. The Appendix containing the important provisions of the statutes has been thoroughly revised and brought down to date, and references given to the latest Codes and Statutes. It has been the aim of the editor of this edition to adapt it to the present condition of statutory law and judicial decisions and make it as useful an aid as possible in professional practice. JOHNSTOWN, N. Y., March 1, 1916. DEWITT C. MOORE. PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. Mr. Wood's treatise upon the Law of Limitations has long been recognized as the most exhaustive work upon the subject existing in America or England. The second edition, the final proofs of which were returned to the printer only a few days before the author died, largely extended the scope of the original work as outlined in his Preface, more than two thousand cases being there added, and the Appendix embodying the American and English statutes, having been thoroughly revised. In this edition, in order that the work may again appear in a single volume, those statutes have been much reduced by omitting all but the important provisions needed by the practitioner; but, in the provisions thus retained, the exact language of the statute is given a matter of moment, since the phraseology often differs in like clauses in different States; great care has been taken to include all material amendments; and lengthy quotations from the older cases have often been shortened. In the older States few changes have been made in these statutes in recent years, but in the Western States, especially when a territory was admitted to statehood, radical changes are often found. In this edition the citations have been thoroughly verified; all the latest decisions of note are added in new notes in double columns, which discuss many new questions, such as the effect of taking out execution upon the time allowed on a judgment; pleading or waiving the statute; the effect of State statutes in the Federal courts and in equity, and of injunctions and insolvency, of paying interest or dividends, nuisances, amendments, dower, tacking different adverse possessions, etc. BOSTON, MASS., Oct. 1, 1901. JOHN M. GOULD. |