John Archibald Campbell, Eberly v. Moore — Opinion of the Court
“ The equitable jurisdiction of the courts of the United States as courts of law is chiefly exercised in the amendment of pleadings and proceedings in the court, and in the supervision of all the various steps in a cause, so that the rules and practice of the court shall be so administered and enforced as to prevent hardship and injustice, and that the merits of the cause may be fairly tried. ”
John Archibald Campbell, Eberly v. Moore — Opinion of the Court
“ If he is led to make such plea through fraud and misrepresentation practiced upon him, or through accident or mistake, not culpable on his part, and it appears not to have prejudiced the plaintiff in any degree, but to be only an unconscionable advantage in his favor, is the mouth of the defendant forever closed, and is he placed beyond the pale of any relief? ”
John Archibald Campbell, Eberly v. Moore — Opinion of the Court
“ But the question is, whether, if a party once pleads to the merits, he forever forfeits all right to ask, and the court itself loses all power to permit, upon any ground whatever, such plea to be withdrawn, and an issue presented to the jurisdiction of the court. ”
