Arkansas State Game & Fish Commission v. W. R. Wrape Stave Co.

76 F. Supp. 323, 1948 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2833
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Arkansas
DecidedMarch 1, 1948
DocketCivil Action No. L.R. 1677
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 76 F. Supp. 323 (Arkansas State Game & Fish Commission v. W. R. Wrape Stave Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arkansas State Game & Fish Commission v. W. R. Wrape Stave Co., 76 F. Supp. 323, 1948 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2833 (E.D. Ark. 1948).

Opinion

LEMLEY, District Judge.

This is an action instituted by the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission in the Circuit Court of Faulkner County, Arkansas, to condemn sixty separate parcels of land in that county, containing approximately 7,000 acres, for, as stated in the petition, “a public purpose, to-wit: the erection and maintenance of a dam and lake for the purpose of propagation and conservation of the State’s fish and game.” After service was had upon the defendants in the state court, the defendant Dierks Lumber and Coal Company,' a Delaware corporation, filed its petition for removal of the cause to this court, alleging a diversity of citizenship between it and the plaintiff. The cause in its entirety was removed, and now the plaintiff seeks to have the same remanded to the state court, claiming that there is no diversity of citizenship between it and Dierks or any of the other defendants, for the reason that the plaintiff is but an arm or alter ego of the State of Arkansas, and is therefore not a citizén within the meaning of the Removal Act. 28 U.S.C. A. § 71.

Briefs have been submitted by the plaintiff and by the defendants Wrape Stave Company, Dierks Lumber and Coal Company, and Magnolia Pipe Line Company; and two questions are presented: First, whether any part of the case is removable in view of plaintiff’s aforesaid contention; and secondly, if the cause is removable as to the lands of Dierks, whether such removal operates as a removal with respect to all of the tracts involved in the action, regardless of the citizenship of the owners thereof, many of whom are citizens of the State of Arkansas. The briefs of plaintiff and Dierks are directed to both questions, and those of Wrape and Magnolia to the second question only. A decision in favor of the plaintiff on the first question will of course render the second moot.

As noted, the plaintiff Commission contends that it is but an arm or alter ego of the State, whereas it is the contention of Dierks that the plaintiff is an entity separate and apart from the State and is therefore a “citizen” within the meaning of the Removal Act.

The rule is stated in 45 Am.Jur., Removal of Causes, Sec. 58, as follows:

“A state cannot, in the nature of things, be a citizen of any state; accordingly, a suit between a state and citizens is not one between citizens of different states and cannot be removed from a' state to a Federal court on the ground of diverse citizenship, * * *. This rule necessarily assumes that .the state as such in its governmental capacity is a real party in interest to the suit, * * *. In such a situation, the courts may look behind the nominal parties on the record to ascertain who are [325]*325the real parties to the suit, and determine by a consideration of the nature of the case as presented by the whole record whether the state is a real party in interest. * * *. The state is such real party when the relief sought is that which inures to it alone, and in its favor the judgment or decree, if for the plaintiff, will effectually operate.”

And in Ex parte State of New York, 256 .U.S. 490, 500, 41 S.Ct. 588, 590, 65 L.Ed. 1057:

“As to what is to be deemed a suit against a state, * * * it is now established that the question is to be determined not by the mere names of the titular parties but by the essential nature and effect of the proceeding, as it appears from the entire record.”

A determination as to whether or not the State of Arkansas is the real party in interest here necessitates an examination into the laws of the State of' Arkansas with respect to the powers and duties of the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, and the interest of the State in the subject matter of the action — in the property sought to be acquired thereby and the use to which it is to be put — and also, we think, into the nature of the State’s interest in the fish and game which are to be protected by the proposed reserve.

With respect to the State’s interest in the game and fish within its borders, Mr. Justice White in his learned opinion in Geer v. Connecticut, 161 U.S. 519, 16 S.Ct. 600, 604, 40 L.Ed. 793, traced the rights in such property from the earliest days down to the present time, citing treatises on the law of Athens, the civil law, and the common law of England, among other authorities, and said (quoting from the Supreme Court of Minnesota in State v. Rodman, 58 Minn. 393, 59 N.W. 1098) : “ ‘We take it to be the correct doctrine in this country that the ownership of wild animals, so far as they are capable of ownership, is in the state, not as a proprietor, but in its sovereign capacity, as the representative and for the benefit of all its people in common.’ ” and added, quoting from Magner v. The People, 97 Ill. 320, 323: “It is, perhaps, accurate to say that the ownership of the sovereign authority is in trust for all the people of the state.” See also 3 GJ.S., Animals, § 5, and cases cited; 36 C.J.S., Fish, § 3, and cases cited; Organ v. State, 56 Ark. 267, 19 S.W. 840; and LaCoste et al. v. Department of Conservation of the State of Louisiana, 263 U.S. 545, 44 S.Ct. 186, 68 L.Ed. 437.

In regard to the powers and duties of the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, it was created by Amendment No. 35 to the Constitution of Arkansas, which Amendment became effective July 1, 1945. The pertinent parts of this Amendment provide:

“Section 1. The control, management, restoration,- conservation and regulation of birds, fish, game and wildlife resources of the State, including hatcheries, sanctuaries, refuges, reservations and all property now owned, or used for said purposes and the acquisition and establishment of same, the administration of the laws now and/or hereafter pertaining thereto, shall be vested in a Commission to be known as the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, to consist of eight members. Seven of whom shall be active and one an associate member who shall be the Head of the Department of Zoology at the University of Arkansas, without voting power.”

That the first commissioners shall be appointed by the Governor, one from each Congressional District in the State, for terms of one, two, three, four, five, six and seven years, respectively; and upon expiration of their respective terms of office, a successor shall be appointed by the Governor for a term of seven years; that no commissioner can serve more than one term, and none can succeed himself. Sections 2 and 3.

“Section 4. Each Commissioner shall take the regular oath of office provided in. the Constitution and serve without compensation other than actual expenses while away from home engaged entirely on, the work of the Commission.”

That Commissioners may be removed by the Governor only for the same causes as-apply to other Constitutional officers, but vacancies on the Commission shall be filled by appointment of the Governor for the unexpired term; that upon failure of the Governor to fill the vacancy within [326]*326thirty days, the remaining Commissioners shall make the appointment for the unexpired term. A Chairman shall be elected annually from the members of the Commission, to serve one year. Sections 5 and 6.

“Section 7.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Opinion No.
Arkansas Attorney General Reports, 1989
Glenmede Trust Company v. Dow Chemical Company
384 F. Supp. 423 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1974)
Miller v. Hulsey
347 F. Supp. 192 (E.D. Arkansas, 1972)
Ottinger v. Blackwell
173 F. Supp. 817 (E.D. Arkansas, 1959)
Lee County v. Holden
82 F. Supp. 353 (E.D. Arkansas, 1949)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
76 F. Supp. 323, 1948 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2833, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arkansas-state-game-fish-commission-v-w-r-wrape-stave-co-ared-1948.