Los Angeles herald., 1892-11-19
ONE CABLE ROAD SUIT ENDED,
Judge Ross Dismisses the st.
Louis Peoples Complaint.
Yesterdays Developments in the
Wong Ark Trial.
Proceedings in the Various Departments
Yesterday-Notes in Cases which
Were on Trial - New
Suits Filed.

In the United States circuit court
yesterday Judge Ross dismissed the suit
of the st. Louis Railroad company, the
Fourth National bank OF st. Louis and
the Boatmen's bank against the Pacific
Railway company for lack of jur;sdic-
tion. The opinion handed down is an
exhaustive analysis of the suit brought
by the st. Louis Railway company, and
his findihgs in this caee apply to the
other suits in which the Pacific Railway
company was made defendant. Stripped
of its technical phrasings and embellish-
ments, the salient points Of the opinion
are as follows:
This is q motion to dismiss the suit
for want of jurisdiction made after the
filing of an answer to the merits, but be-
fore trial. The answer, however, also
denied the jurisdiction of the court.
1t is well settled that the circuit
courts have no Jurisdiction except such
as is conferred by the constitution and
laws OF the United States, and that to
bring case within it the jurisdiction
must be affirmatively shown.
The controversy between the parties
to the present suit grows out OF con.
tract, and the asserted jurisdiction Of
this court is founded solely on the
diverse citizenship of the parties. The
complaint alleges that the plaintiff is,
and at all times therein mentioned has
been, a acorporation duly organized under
the laws of the state of Missouri, and
citizen and an inhabitant thereof, hav-
ing it's principal place of business in the
city OF st. Louis, of that state; that the
defendant is, and at all times mentioned
in the complaint has been, corpora
ton duly organized under the laws of
the state of Illinois, and citizen of that
state, having it's principal place of busi-
ness, however, at the city of Los An
geles, state of California, and is and has
been, during the time mentioned in the
complaint, an inhabitant of the city of
Los Angeles, state of California; that
the defendant corporation was organized
for the purpose of doing business in
Los Angeles city, the chief object of
which was and is the construction, ex-
tension and operation of street car lines,
which purposes were expressed in it's
articles of incorporation that there is
and at all times mentioned in the COM
plant has been statute of California
providing for corporations doing busi-
ness in this state, designating some per-
son in this state on whom process may
be served, which was done by the Pacific
Railway company.
Nevertheless the court holds
that this designation of person to re-
ceive process does not make corpora.
tion organized without the state of Cali.
fornia a citizen or resident of the state
of California within the meaning of the
act of congress- defining the jurisdiction
of circuit courts of the United States.
.. Inasmuch as it. ie provided
that where the jurisdiction is founded
only on the fact that the action is be-
tween citizens of different states, suit
shall be brought only in the district of
the residence Of either plaintiff or de-
fendant, and as this district is not the
district OF the residence OF either the
plaintiff, the st. Louis Railway company,
which is corporation of the state OF
Missouri, or OF the defendant, the Pacific
Railway company, which ia corpora
tion OF the state of illinois, this court
has no jurisdiction in the controversy
between them, and for want OF jurisdic-
tion this suit is dismissed.