Law Commons^™

Jurisdictional Amount In The Federal District Courts, William W. Hurst

Vanderbilt Law Review

In 1925, Judge Dobie, then professor of law at the University of Virginia, advanced a formula for determining the value of the matter in controversy in all federal question and diverse citizenship cases in the federal district courts. He called it a "plaintiff-viewpoint rule," and stated it thus: "The amount in controversy in the United States District Court is always to be determined by the value to the plaintiff of the right which he in good faith asserts in his pleading that sets forth the operative facts which constitute his cause of action."

Since then, the rule has received sanction …

Judgments-Effect Of A Recital Of Jurisdiction In A Foreign Judgment Record, James F. Gordy S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought an action in the District of Columbia on a Maryland default judgment, offering in evidence the docket entries wherein there was a recital of personal jurisdiction by virtue of a constable's return of summons. Defendant attacked the Maryland judgment on the ground of lack of jurisdiction over the person, testifying and offering evidence, vague and conflicting, but tending to show that he had no notice of the action or judgment until the present suit. Plaintiff testified to the contrary and advanced certain facts to indicate that defendant had been served and had secured several continuances in the prior …

Federal Courts-Substitution Of Parties By Amendment Under The Federal Rules To Correct A Jurisdictional Defect, Rex Eames S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiffs, local officers of a union, sued to enjoin the national officers of the union from interfering with plaintiffs' union duties. Because the original complaint failed to show diversity of citizenship as a basis for federal jurisdiction, plaintiffs sought by amendment to substitute five nonresident members of the union as parties plaintiff and to change the action to a class suit. Held, the court had the power to permit such an amendment but, in the exercise of its discretion, it would not do so here. National Maritime Union of America v. Curran, (D.C. N.Y. 1949) 87 F. …

Corporations-Stockholder's Suit To Compel Declaration Of Dividends- Necessity Of Directors As Parties, Daniel A. Isaacson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a citizen of New York and the owner of some preferred stock in the defendant Delaware corporation, brought a class action against the corporation in a federal district court in Pennsylvania to compel the declaration and payment of dividends on the preferred stock, alleging that the directors had acted in had faith in violation of their duties as fiduciaries. Defendant's articles of incorporation provided that the preferred stock was entitled to receive dividends "when and as declared by the Board of Directors"; the by-laws permitted a majority of the hoard to constitute a quorum for purposes of transacting business. …

Attorneys At Law-Substitution Of Attorneys-Protection Of The Attorney's Right To Compensation, G. B. Myers S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff employed an attorney on a contingent fee basis. After the suit had been begun, but before trial, plaintiff moved to dismiss and to substitute attorneys so that he might bring the action in another state. The attorney objected, claiming that the court should secure him in his right to one-third of the recovery. Plaintiff contended that the attorney was only entitled to the reasonable value of his services. On argument to the court, held, for plaintiff. When the employment is upon a contingent fee basis the attorney discharged without cause has a right only to the reasonable value …

Operative Relationships Among Various Courts, Law Enforcement And Welfare Agencies In The City Of Detroit, Maxine Boord Virtue

Michigan Law Review

This article is the seventh chapter of a book, Survey of Metropolitan Courts: Detroit Area, which is being published this year by the Michigan Legal Series. It was prepared by this writer as a Research Associate in the employ of the Law School of the University of Michigan, under the supervising editorship of Professor Edson R. Sunderland. The study was undertaken at the request of the Committee on Judicial Administration in Metropolitan Trial Courts, appointed by the Section on Judicial Administration of the American Bar Association, of which committee Ira W. Jayne, Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court of …

Some Problems In Federal Question Jurisdiction, George B. Fraser, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Congress has given the federal district courts original and removal jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution or laws of the United States, but the power of these courts to hear such cases has been restricted by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court holds that the district courts have jurisdiction of a case if a federal question is raised in the complaint, but jurisdiction cannot be based on a federal question in the answer. This means that the district courts are closed to many cases that involve a substantial federal issue, while many cases …

Federal Courts-Removal Jurisdiction-Counterclaim As The Sole Basis For Removal, Paul M. D. Harrison S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought an action for damages in a state court Defendant filed pleas to the declaration, and also filed a counterclaim arising out of the same cause of action. On this date defendant also filed a motion with the Federal District Court asking removal of the case based solely upon his counterclaim. On plaintiff's motion, held, case remanded to the state court. Defendant has no right under the United States Judicial Code to have a case removed from the state court to the federal court when his motion is based upon his own counterclaim. Collins v. Faucett, (D.C. …

Federal Courts-Use Of A Cross-Claim Under Rule 13(G) Of The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, Rex Eames S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Under an ordinary automobile insurance policy, P insurance company promised to defend and indemnify Harvey for any suit arising from an accident involving his use of the insured truck. Collier sued Harvey in a state court alleging injuries due to the negligent use of the insured truck by two Harvey employees. Before judgment thereon, P, incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin, sued Harvey and Collier, citizens of Oklahoma, in the federal court. P sought a declaratory judgment on the grounds that (a) at the time of the accident the employees were under the control and supervision of the City …

Federal Procedure-Disposition Of Case Before Court On Certiorari After Petitioner Has Fled Jurisdiction [Eisler V. United States, U. S. Sup. Ct. 1949].

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Administrative Law--Res Judicata--Determination Of The Jursidictional Fact, D. A. B.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

International Law-Jurisdiction-Application Of United States Seaman's Laws To Foreign Seamen On Foreign Vessels, Philip Smullin

Michigan Law Review

Libelants, eleven Greek seamen, signed a contract in the United States for a voyage from this country to Spain on a Greek vessel. They were discharged when the ship reached Barcelona. The shipowners made advance payments to these seamen, as they had in the past, and deducted such payments when settlements were made in the United States at the end of the voyage, a practice contrary to a federal statute. Prior to libelants' return to the United States from Spain, where they had been properly discharged, suit was instituted in their behalf for wages. Respondents paid into court a sum …

Constitutional Law-Federal Courts-Diversity Jurisdiction- District Of Columbia Citizens, John D. Mcleod S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Act of Congress of April 20, 1940, provided that district courts should exercise original jurisdiction over actions "between citizens of different States, or citizens of the District of Columbia, the Territory of Hawaii, or Alaska, and any State or Territory . . . . " The committee report and the title indicate the purpose to extend to citizens of the District of Columbia and the territories the right to sue in federal district courts on grounds solely of diversity of citizenship. Although the committee reports indicated no constitutional difficulties, the majority of the lower federal courts which considered the …

Federal Courts-Civil Procedure-Availability To Plaintiff Of Change Of Venue Under Title 28 U.S.C.A. 1404(A), Richard B. Gushée S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiffs filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in order to obtain service on the defendant. The plaintiff then filed a motion for an order to transfer the cause to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania under Title 28 U.S.C.A. 1404(a) on the grounds that all the plaintiffs and witnesses resided in Pennsylvania, that it would be inconvenient and expensive to transport these witnesses to Ohio, and that the cause of action arose in Pennsylvania. Held, motion denied. Title 28 U.S.C.A. 1404(a) is not available …

Statutory Construction--Extra-Territorial Application Of Federal Statutes--Application Of Federal Tort Claims Act To Claims Arising In Foreign Areas Leased To The United States, Thomas L. Waterbury S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Decedent, an airlines employee, was killed in a plane crash at Harmon Field, Newfoundland, a base leased to the United States by Great Britain for ninety-nine years. The plaintiff, decedent's administratrix, brought suit in a district court against the United States, relying on the Federal Tort Claims Act as a waiver of federal immunity from suit. Judgment for the United States was reversed by the Court of Appeals. On certiorari to the Supreme Court, held, reversed. The claim arose in a foreign country and the FTCA specifically retains federal immunity from suit on such claims. United States v. Spelar …

Advisability Of Withholding Decision In Federal Court Pending State Court's Interpretation Of Unsettled State Law

Indiana Law Journal

Federal Jurisdiction Note

Propriety Of A Stay In Federal Court When Companion State Court Suit Runs Concurrently

Indiana Law Journal

Recent Cases: Federal Jurisdiction

Some Statutory Construction Problems And Approaches In Criminal Law, James C. Quarles

Vanderbilt Law Review

Statutory construction and interpretation, important in every field of law, is vital in a field containing a large number of legislative acts and a considerable body of appellate court decisions construing them. For this reason alone, statutory construction problems are particularly significant in criminal law. Many American jurisdictions punish no activity other than that expressly declared criminal by statute.' The Federal Government, which of course punishes no crimes except those defined by Congress, has contributed to this growth of the criminal law through the imposition of many duties and the proscription of various activities relating to the collection of revenue, …

International Law-Military Tribunals For The Trial Of War Criminals As International Courts, David S. Dewitt S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, a German citizen confined in the American Zone of Occupied Germany in the custody of the United States Anny, petitioned the United States District Court, District of Columbia for a writ of habeas corpus. The respondents were the Secretary of Defense and others alleged to have directory control over the jailers in Germany. The petitioner had been convicted of war crimes by Military Tribunal IV at Nuremburg, Germany. This tribunal was established by order of General Clay, United States Military Governor and Zone Commander, pursuant to Control Council Law No. 10 which carried out the London Agreement and the …

Federal Procedure-Scope Of Power Of Federal Supreme Court To Review State Court Decisions [Terminiello V. City Of Chicago, U. S. Sup. Ct. 1949]

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Procedure-Validity Of Statute Extending Diversity Jurisdiction To Citizens Of District Of Columbia [National Mut. Ins. Co. V. Tidewater Transfer Co., Inc., U. S. Sup. Ct. 1949].

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conflict Of Laws-Validity Of A Contract-Application Of Renvoi, R. Lawrence Storms S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff (British actor, James Mason) and defendant signed an agreement in England contemplating the formation of an American company for producing motion pictures. Plaintiff was to give his exclusive services to the company, and defendant was to make all financial arrangements and generally to manage the company. A dispute arose as to the legal effect of the agreement. Plaintiff won a judgment that the agreement was not a valid contract because of its indefiniteness as to essential terms. On appeal, held, affirmed. Mason v. Rose, (2d Cir. 1949) 176 F. (2d) 486.

Conflict Of Laws-Model Execution Of Wills Statute-Law Governing Revocation Of Will, Edward W. Rothe S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Decedent's will, devising Iowa realty, was denied probate in Illinois, the state of domicile, on grounds that the will had been revoked by cancellation. The devisees offered the will for probate in Iowa, under whose law no revocation was effected. The heirs contested probate on grounds that the Illinois denial of probate was conclusive and binding on Iowa courts in view of §633.49, Iowa code, 1946: "A last will and testament executed without this state, in the mode prescribed by the law, either of the place where executed or the testator's domicile, shall be deemed to be legally executed, and …

Courts--Process--Retroactive Operation Of Statutes Providing For Substituted Service, Robert H. Frick S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a stockholder of a South Carolina corporation, commenced a derivative suit against former directors of the corporation by serving a summons and complaint on the Secretary of State of South Carolina. Plaintiff relied on a statute providing that nonresident directors of domestic corporations, by acceptance of election or appointment as directors, should be held to have appointed the Secretary of State their agent for service of process. The statute became effective in May, 1947. Defendants, residents of New Jersey and Maryland, had resigned as directors of the corporation in December, 1946. On appeal from a judgment vacating the service …

The Tidewater Case And Limited Jurisdiction Of Federal "Constitutional" Courts, Joe H. Foy

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the recent case of National Mutual Insurance Ca. v. Tidewater Transfer Co.,' the Act of April 20, 1940, allowing citizens of the District of Columbia and of the territories to sue and be sued in the district courts on the basis of diverse citizenship, was held constitutional insofar as it applies to citizens of the District of Columbia. The practical effect of the decision, in allowing Congress to remove a basic inequality among citizens of the United States, is perhaps commendable. However, there are broad theoretical implications in this holding, emphasized by sharp debate among the justices, which could …

Courts-Validity Of Contracts Restricting Venue In Actions Under The Federal Employers' Liability Act, John C. Walker S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner suffered injuries in the course of his duties as an employee of respondent railroad. Subsequently, respondent advanced money to petitioner and the latter agreed in writing that if his claim could not be settled he would sue only in the county or district where he resided at the time of the injury, or in the county or district where the injury was sustained. This agreement restricted petitioner's choice of venue to either a state or federal court sitting in Michigan. Ignoring the contract, petitioner sued in an Illinois court. Respondent then brought suit in the Michigan courts to enjoin …

Procedure-Contempt As Sanction To Enforce Delivery In Replevin, John A. Nordberg

Michigan Law Review

In a replevin action in a common pleas court the plaintiff, after filing a $200 bond for property later valued at $900, obtained possession of some household goods of the defendant under a fatally defective writ. On motion of the defendant the court dismissed the action and ordered the property returned. On appeal, plaintiff's action was again dismissed and he was directed to return defendant's goods. He ignored the order and was adjudged guilty of contempt. On appeal in the nature of certiorari from this conviction, held, reversed without prejudice. The order was void since the court had lost …