Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/204/632/
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 04:02:29+00:00

Document:
When the circuit court dismisses a case under the provisions of § 1 of the Act of March 3, 1875, 18 Stat. 470, as amended by § 1 of the Act of August 13, 1888, 25 Stat. 434, because not substantially involving the requisite amount in controversy to confer jurisdiction, the order of the court, in this case without a jury, is subject to review in this Court in respect to the rulings of law and findings of fact upon the evidence.
Whatever plaintiff's motive in bringing his suit in the federal court, rather than in the state court may be, he has the right to act upon it.
Where a plaintiff in good faith asserts a claim against several defendants that, acting together, they have taken land from him of over $2,000 in value and inflicted upon him damages of over $2,000, and requisite diverse citizenship exists, the Circuit Court has jurisdiction and the case does not fall within the dismissal provision of § 1 of the Act of March 3, 1875, because it appears to the trial judge that each of the defendants claims that the part of plaintiffs' land which he has taken and the damages recoverable against him would amount in value to less than $2,000. A determination by the judge that the defendants did not act jointly is not a determination of a jurisdictional fact but, of an essential element of the merits.
"the defendants Reagan, Smith, Greer, and Deven unlawfully entered upon said premises and dispossessed plaintiff thereof, and have since that date unlawfully withheld from the plaintiff the possession thereof, to his damage $2,000.00;"
that the plaintiff's title was derived by mesne conveyances from two patents of adjoining lots of land, known respectively as survey 27 and survey 91; that, prior to plaintiff's acquisition of title, the two surveys were circumscribed by a fence two miles long and one mile wide, making a single tract of land of those dimensions; that the value of the land was $5,000, and that the defendants have destroyed fences and other improvements and thereby damaged the plaintiff in the sum of $2,000, and prayed possession of the land, and damages.
upon any other than his own land was untrue, "and made with the intent to confer upon this Court jurisdiction over him;" that the value of the land which he entered, is in possession of, and claims is less than $800, and asked that the suit abate as to him.
"to try title to recover of S. A. Greer, a defendant in the case at bar, one T. Smith and others, the title and possession of the land described in the petition in the case at bar,"
and praying that the cause await the determination of the cause in the state court. The answer of Smith contained the same allegation with regard to the pendency of the action in the state court as that of Greer, disclaimed as to part of the land described in the petition, and pleaded the general issue as to the remainder. Deven filed no answer.
More than a year after the last of the foregoing pleadings were filed, the plaintiff filed what was entitled "First amended original petition." In it, Lee, also a resident of Texas, was named as an additional defendant. The amendment seems to be substantially like the original petition, except that it alleged that "the defendants Reagan, Smith, Greer, Lee, and Deven together unlawfully entered upon said premises and dispossessed plaintiff thereof," and that "all of said defendants have jointly taken possession of plaintiff's said land;" that the plaintiff has acquired title to land by the statute of limitations, and that the action is one to fix and determine the boundaries, which are uncertain, and that "the entire land is the subject matter of this controversy as between the plaintiff and each and all of said defendants."
"the claim of plaintiff as set forth in his petition as to the value of said land, improvements, rents, and damages, exceeding $2,000, has been fraudulently alleged with the intent and purpose to confer jurisdiction upon this honorable court, when in truth and in fact no such jurisdiction existed, because the matter in controversy is of less than $2,000 in value."
"fraudulently claimed and alleged for the intent and purpose of conferring jurisdiction upon this honorable court, when in truth and in fact no such jurisdiction existed, because the whole matter in controversy is and was of less value than $2,000."
"the pleas of each of the said defendants Reagan, Lee, Smith, and Greer is fully proved and sustained, and that this Court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter in dispute,"
and dismissed the action for want of jurisdiction. A writ of error was allowed "solely upon the question of jurisdiction," the judge, certifying that no other question was tried, transmitted the record containing a bill of exceptions to this Court.
section 90, all of which were adjoining sections and surrounded three sides of the plaintiff's land. The dispute concerned the situation of the boundaries. As the defendants claimed the boundaries, they owned 1,014 acres of what the plaintiff claimed to be his land, which, when he acquired it, was enclosed by a fence in one parcel of 1,280 acres. Of the 1,014 acres taken from the land claimed by plaintiff, Lee claimed 96, Reagan 288, Smith 443, and Greer 187. The evidence, which is reported in full in the bill of exceptions, shows the following facts: in 1892, before any of the defendants appeared claiming title, the 1,280 acres claimed by the plaintiff was enclosed as one parcel by a substantial fence, and was known as the Pendleton pasture. Subsequently the plaintiff acquired title to the enclosed land. Smith pulled down part and Reagan another part of the Pendleton pasture fence, and Smith and Greer each pastured their cattle throughout the Pendleton pasture.
"if, in any suit commenced in a circuit court, . . . it shall appear to the satisfaction of said circuit court at any time after such suit has been brought, . . . that such suit does not really and substantially involve a dispute or controversy properly within the jurisdiction of said circuit court, or that the parties to such suit have been improperly or collusively made or joined either as plaintiffs or defendants for the purpose of creating a case cognizable . . . under this act,"
the court shall dismiss the suit. The propriety of the dismissal is brought here for review by virtue of section 5 of the Act of March 3 1891, and is the only question for decision.
inflicted damages of $2,000 upon him by the unlawful entry and possession, and sought to recover of all the defendants the whole parcel of land and all the damages claimed. Thus, the plaintiff set forth a case within the jurisdiction of the court. Giving to the defendants' answers the broadest possible effect, they each, for the purpose of disputing the jurisdiction of the court, denied that they had jointly entered upon plaintiff's land, and, each disclaiming as to the remainder, alleged that, under a title separate and independent from the other defendants, he had entered upon and held possession of only a certain part of the plaintiff's land, which, together with the damages inflicted by the entry and possession, was of much less value than $2,000. The answers further alleged that the allegations of the value of the land, the extent of the damages, and the joint action of the defendants in entering, taking, and holding possession, were fraudulently made by the plaintiff with the intent and purpose of conferring jurisdiction upon the court, when in truth no such jurisdiction existed, because the matter in controversy was in reality less than the value of $2,000. Upon the motion of the defendants, the judge, without a jury, passed upon the question of jurisdiction, and, after hearing evidence, found that the pleas of the defendants as to the jurisdiction were "fully proved and sustained," and that the court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter in dispute, and dismissed the suit.
The order of the court is subject to review in this Court in respect of the rulings of law and findings of fact upon the evidence. Wetmore v. Rymer, 169 U. S. 115.
"Although there might be a perfect defense to the suit for at least the amount not yet due, yet the fact of a defense, and a good defense, too, would not affect the question as to what was the amount in dispute. Suppose an action were brought on a nonnegotiable note for $2,500, the consideration for which was fully stated in the petition, and which was a sale of lottery tickets, or any other matter distinctly prohibited by statute -- can there be a doubt that the circuit court would have jurisdiction? There would be presented a claim to recover the $2,500, and whether that claim was sustainable or not, that would be the real sum in dispute. In short, the fact of a valid defense to a cause of action, although apparent on the face of the petition, does not diminish the amount that is claimed nor determine what is the matter in dispute, for who can say in advance that that defense will be presented by the defendant, or, if presented, sustained by the court?"
that nothing in it warranted any such finding. It appeared clearly that the Pendleton pasture, which the plaintiff sought to recover against all the defendants, was of a value much in excess of the jurisdictional amount. There was not a word of evidence reflecting upon the plaintiff's good faith in bringing the action, in joining the defendants, or in framing his petition. He doubtless preferred to try his controversy in the federal courts, and, whatever the motive of his preference may have been, he had the right to act upon it. Blair v. Chicago, 201 U. S. 400; Chicago v. Mills (decided February 4, this term), 204 U. S. 321. Therefore, the validity of the order of dismissal must be considered, after an elimination of the finding that the plaintiff's claim was fraudulently made.
"In no case is it permissible for the court to substitute itself for the jury, and compel a compliance on the part of the latter with its own view of the facts in evidence, as the standard and measure of that justice which the jury itself is the appointed constitutional tribunal to award."
In applying these general principles for the purpose of ascertaining the limits of the authority to dismiss summarily for lack of jurisdiction, the circumstance that, in this case, a jury was waived by the parties is without significance, because, if the judge had authority to adopt this summary method, he could dispense with the jury whether the parties agreed to it or not.
must have found that the defendants had not jointly taken and held the whole of the plaintiff's land. In doing this, we think he exceeded his authority under the statute, and, in determining the jurisdiction, in effect decided the controversy between the parties upon the merits. In deciding that the defendants had not acted jointly, as the plaintiff alleged and the defendants denied, he determined not a jurisdictional fact, but an essential element of the merits of the dispute upon which the parties were at issue.
An assumption which underlay the action of the court below in dismissing the case evidently was that, if the defendants, as they asserted in their pleadings, had each, acting by virtue of a separate and independent title, taken and held a part only of the plaintiff's land, each part being less than the jurisdictional amount, although the whole was of more than the jurisdictional amount, there was no controversy within the jurisdiction of the circuit court. The correctness of this assumption of law has been argued before us by the parties. We do not deem it necessary to decide that question. There is certainly respectable authority which tends to show that, in such a case, the plaintiff, being the owner of a single lot of land, may maintain one action against all the defendants, and that the measure of jurisdiction is the value of the plaintiff's land, and not the value of the part held by each defendant. The appropriate rule, however, to be applied to the facts of this case can be better determined in a trial on the merits, where instructions on their varied aspects may be given to the jury, subject to the review provided by law.
The judgment of the court below is therefore reversed, and the cause remanded to that court with directions to take such further proceedings therein as the law requires and in conformity with this opinion.

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