# Knox Rock-Blasting Co. v. Rairdon Stone Co.

> U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern Ohio · June 21, 1898 · 87 F. 969

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9307988

## Case

- **Full name:** KNOX ROCK-BLASTING CO. v. RAIRDON STONE CO.
- **Court:** U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern Ohio
- **Decided:** June 21, 1898
- **Citations:** 87 F. 969; 1898 U.S. App. LEXIS 2764
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion of the court by Severeks
- **Judges:** Severeks
- **Cited by:** 4 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9307988

## Opinion text

SEVEREKS, District Judge.
The motion to strike the defendant’s plea from the files must be sustained. To a bill in the usual form, charging infringement of a patent, the defendant pleads that during a certain period the patented device was experimented with by the defendant by consent of the complainant, and that with respect to other occasions it did not infringe. A plea should, state some single objection to the plaintiff’s case which would be a complete defense either to the whole bill or to some distinct part of it. This plea does neither, but consists of matter which would be a defense for some of the period covered by the allegations of the bill and answers for the rest of the period. It has been several times .decided that a defense by plea is inappropriate to this class of cases unless in very special circumstances, and I think the objections to it; are re-enforced in this case by the general rule of equity pleading to which I have referred. Sharp v. Reissner, 9 Fed. 445 ; Hubbell v. De Land, 14 Fed. 471 -474; Korn v. Wiebusch, 33 Fed. 50 ; Union Switch & Signal Co. v. Philadelphia & R. R. Co., 69 Fed. 833 -835; Chisholm v. Johnson, 84 Fed. 381 . Such cases as Leatherbee v. Brown, 69 Fed. 590 , are distinguishable. There the whole matter of *970 defense in the case consisted of a single point, and the cases fall within the exception to the general rule above stated. The motion is sustained. Leave is given to answer within 20 days.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9307988. Public record. Not legal advice.