Jones v. Gould

141 F. 698, 16 Ohio F. Dec. 207, 1905 U.S. App. LEXIS 4923
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern Ohio
DecidedOctober 26, 1905
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 141 F. 698 (Jones v. Gould) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. Gould, 141 F. 698, 16 Ohio F. Dec. 207, 1905 U.S. App. LEXIS 4923 (circtsdoh 1905).

Opinion

RICHARDS, Circuit Judge

(orally). This case is submitted to me upon a motion to quash the service of a restraining order made upon the defendants, Gould, Ramsey, Guy, and Blair. I had expected to put in writing my conclusions, but an examination of the authorities has occupied the limited time at my disposal and precluded this. I may- hereafter prepare a short opinion. At present I shall content myself with stating the general results reached.

Upon the filing of the bill, I set the case for hearing upon the motion to appoint a receiver, and upon application of the complainant restrained the defendants, until the further order of the court, from selling, contracting to sell, transferring, or parting with the possession of any of the properties of the Eittle Kanawha Syndicate, so called, as described in the bill. I also directed that notice of this order, with a copy of the bill, be served personally upon the said defendants. Service of this order was made, and the defendants, making a special appearance for the purpose, have filed motions to quash the service, made outside of this state and district, on the ground that in each instance (1) the defendant is an inhabitant and citizen of some stateo other than Ohio; (2) it appears upon-the face of the bill that the relief sought is of such a nature that the defendant cannot lawfully be called upon to defend against the same in this district; and (3) the court is without jurisdiction to proceed against the defendant.

It is contended, in the first place, that by the filing of these motions each of the defendants entered his appearance generally and is now in court. The rule is, of course, well settled that where a defendant [699]*699appears by motion to object to the jurisdiction of the court over his person, and at the same time asks that the cause be dismissed because the court has no jurisdiction of the subject-matter of the action, this constitutes a voluntary appearance. Elliott v. Lawhead, 43 Ohio St. 171, 1 N. E. 577; Fitzgerald v. Fitzgerald, 137 U. S. 98, 106, 11 Sup. Ct. 36, 34 L. Ed. 608. It may be conceded that the wording of the third clause gives color to the claim of the plaintiff; but I think a careful reading of the motion clears this up, and evinces that the point intended to be made is that the court had not acquired, and could not acquire, jurisdiction of the person of the defendant. The statement in the third clause that the court is without jurisdiction to proceed against him, evidently refers to the claim that the court has not obtained and cannot obtain jurisdiction of his person.

Proceeding to a consideration of the merits of the motion: While the first section of Act March 3, 1875, c. 137, 18 Stat. 470, as amended in 1888 (Act Aug. 13, 1888, c. 866, § 1, 25 Stat. 433 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 508]), provides that “no civil suit shall be brought before either of said courts against any person by any original process or proceeding in any other district than that whereof he is an inhabitant, but where the jurisdiction is founded only upon the fact that the action is between citizens of different states, suit shall be brought only within the district of the residence of either the plaintiff or defendant,” and while clearly the institution of this suit is not in compliance with these provisions, for neither the plaintiff nor any of the defendants are residents of this district, it is contended that jurisdiction may be sustained, and all the defendants ultimately be brought in, under section 8 of the same act (18 Stat. 472 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 513]), which provides “that when in any suit commenced in any Circuit Court of the United States to enforce any legal or equitable lien, or claim to, or to remove any incumbrance or lien or cloud upon the title of real or personal property within the district where such suit is brought, one or more of the defendants therein shall not be an inhabitant of, or found within the said district, or shall not voluntarily appear thereto, it shall be lawful for the court to make an order” directing special service by publication or otherwise.

The contention of the plaintiff, briefly stated, is that this is a suit to enforce a trust in certain property, real or personal, which was purchased in part with moneys subscribed by him, and is now held by the syndicate managers, Gould, Ramsey & Guy, upon certain trusts defined in what is known as the syndicate agreement; that a part of this property, namely, the stock of two railroad companies organized in Ohio, has a situs within this district, and because of this fact, the suit may be regarded as one to enforce a legal or equitable claim to such property, of which the court has jurisdiction under section 8, with authority to bring the nonresident defendants in by publication.

I am satisfied from the authorities cited that the stock referred to has its situs within this district. These Ohio railroad corporations are inhabitants, citizens of Ohio, and their stocks have their situs here. J'ellenik v. Huron Copper Co., 177 U. S. 1, 20 Sup. Ct. 559, 44 L. Ed. 647.

But, as I sufficiently indicated during the course of the argu[700]*700ment, the serious question, it seems to me, is whether this is a suit “to enforce a legal or equitable lien upon or claim to” this railroad, stock, which is the only property within the district. Of course, the-general rule is well known that the authority of a court is limited to persons and property within its territorial jurisdiction. Where-an action is in personam, the defendant must be served or his appearance secured; if in rem, judgment only operates upon the property within the district. Upon examination of such authorities as I have-been able to make and a consideration of the phraseology of the-section, I have reached the conclusion that to come within its intent, and meaning, the suit must really be one in rem, directed primarily against specific property for the purpose of enforcing a legal or equitable lien upon or claim to such property, or of removing an incumbrance, or lien, or cloud upon the title to such property. All the cases cited have been cases of this kind, cases strictly in rem,. and I have not found one in which jurisdiction is sustained under section 8, that was not directed primarily against property located within the district.

There are several cases where the court has refused to take jurisdiction of an action to subject the property of the defendant ultimately-to the payment of his debts, although part of the property was within the district. Thus in the case of Shainwald v. Lewis (D. C.) 5 Fed. 510, Judge Hillyer said respecting section 738 (page 516) :

“In my judgment this, section was only intended to reach those suits inequity in which it was sought to enforce some pre-existing lien or claim, legal or equitable, upon or to some specific property, real or personal, and not cases in which it is sought to reach and appropriate the general property of a defendant to the payment of his debts. By the words ‘legal or equitable-lien or claim against real or personal property,’ Congress intended to reach every case in which there should be any sort of charge upon a specific piece of' property, capable of being enforced by a court of equity.”

And in Dormitzer v. Illinois, etc., Bridge Co. (C. C.) 6 Led. 217, Judge Lowell declined to entertain jurisdiction of a suit to attach the-property of a nonresident defendant, saying (page 218) :

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Bluebook (online)
141 F. 698, 16 Ohio F. Dec. 207, 1905 U.S. App. LEXIS 4923, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-gould-circtsdoh-1905.