Sparkman v. Supreme Council American Legion of Honor

35 S.E. 391, 57 S.C. 16, 1900 S.C. LEXIS 7
CourtSupreme Court of South Carolina
DecidedMarch 21, 1900
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 35 S.E. 391 (Sparkman v. Supreme Council American Legion of Honor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sparkman v. Supreme Council American Legion of Honor, 35 S.E. 391, 57 S.C. 16, 1900 S.C. LEXIS 7 (S.C. 1900).

Opinion

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

Mr. Justice Gary.

The record contains the following preliminary statement of the case: “This action was commenced in the Court of Common Pleas for Georgetown County on March 2, 1899, for the recovery of $5,000, alleged to be due by the defendant to the plaintiff upon a benefit certificate issued by defendant to the plaintiff’s husband, George E. T. Sparkman, M. D,, with interest from date of his death, May 29th, 1898. The action was tried at the June (special) term of the Court on June 19-21, 1899, before a jury, his Honor, Judge W. C. Benet, presiding. The jury found a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for the sum of $5,371.53. The case was called by the presiding Judge about 4 o’clock P. M., on Monday, June 19th. The defendant’s attorney moved that the cause be withdrawn from the said Court and removed to the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of South Carolina, on the ground of prejudice and local influence.” He presented in support of the motion a petition, togethér with the bond executed in accordance with the requirement of the Eederal Statutes.

1 The defendant appealed upon numerous exceptions, the first two of which are as follows: 1. “Because, it is respectfully submitted, his Honor, the presiding Judge, erred in refusing the defendant’s motion, made on the 19th of June, that the case be withdrawn, and that the Court of Common Pleas refuse to entertain further jurisdiction thereof, in consequence of the removal of the same into the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of South Carolina, it having been made duly to appear to the Court that proper papers for the removal of the cause [20]*20to the United States Court had been forwarded to Charleston on Saturday, the 17th June, 1899, and were presumably on file in the said United States Court at the time said motion was made. 2. Because, the defendant haying renewed its motion for a stay of proceedings and for the removal of the cause to the United States Circuit Court, on the morning of June 20th, 1899, before the taking of testimony had been begun, and having informed the Court that, as a matter of fact, the petition for removal, pursuant to the Federal Statute, had been filed in the United States Circuit Court before the call of this case on the preceding day, to wit: on June 19th, 1899, it was error in the presiding Judge to again refuse said motion, and order the cause to proceed to trial; whereas, it is respectfully submitted, upon the filing of the petition in the Federal Court on June 19, 1899, the latter Court had eo instanti, acquired jurisdiction of the cause, and the State Court should have proceeded no further therein, until after the action of the Federal Court upon the petition for removal had been made to appear by competent evidence.” In the case of Pennsylvania v. Bender, 13 Sup. Ct., 591, Mr. Justice Brewer, for the Court, thus lays down the proper practice in such cases : “The act of 1887 (volume 24, p. 552, § 2,) establishes a different procedure, as follows: Any defendant * * * may remove such suit into the Circuit Court of the United States for the proper district * * * when it shall be made to appear to said Circuit Court that, from prejudice or local influences, lie will not be able to obtain justice in such State Court. There is no specific declaration when proceedings in the State Court shall stop. The right to a removal is determined by the Federal Court, and determined upon evidence satisfactor)'- to it. When it is satisfied that the conditions exist, the defendant may remove. How? The proper way for him is to obtain an order from the Federal Court for the.removal, file that order in the State Court, and take from it a transcript and file it in the Federal Court. It may be said that these steps are not in terms prescribed by the statute. That is true, and also [21]*21true that no specific procedure is named. The language simply is that the defendant may remove when he has satisfied the Federal Court of the existence of sufficient prejudice. The statute being silent, the general rules in regard to the transfer of cases from one Court to another must obtain. If the order of one Court is to stay the action of another, the latter is entitled to notice. If a case is to pass from one Court to another, this is done by filing a transcript of the record of the one in the other. Virginia v. Paul, 148 U. S., 13 Sup. Rep., 536. Such orders and transfers are generally in appellate proceedings, yet something of the same kind is appropriate and necessary in the orderly administration of affairs, to transfer by order of a Federal Court a case from the State Court to itself. Certainly this statute does not abolish the law of comity which controls the relations of Courts of two sovereignties, exercising jurisdiction within the same territorial limits, nor does it abolish the duty of counsel to seasonably advise the Courts, of which they are counsel, of any matters which, if known, would prevent an erroneous exercise of jurisdiction. At any rate, if these exact steps are not requisite, something equivalent thereto is. If there had been more attention paid to these matters in removal proceedings, there would have been less irritation in State tribunals at removals.” The stenographer being absent at the convening of the Court, his Honor, Judge Benet, thus states what took place in regard to the removal proceedings: “I will now make a statement of .what occurred yesterday afternoon. On the call of the Calendar No. 1, this case was marked for trial. Counsel on both sides were asked if they were ready. Counsel for the plaintiff and the defendant both announced ‘ready.’ Thereupon jury No. 1 were put in charge of the case. Counsel for the defendant requested the jury to be sworn on their voir dire, and just before the oath was administered begged leave to move that the case be withdrawn, on the ground that he had sent the proper papers for the removal of the cause to the United States Court; that they had been [22]*22sent to Charleston on Saturday, with instructions that they should be filed forthwith, and he read an affidavit, on information and belief. Counsel stated, on information and belief, that the papers had been filed; that it was a mere expectation or a presumption that they had been filed, but he could not say, as a matter of fact, that they had been filed. The Court ruled that in the absence of proof that the Federal Court had acquired jurisdiction of the case, the case should go on to trial in this Court, this Court having jurisdiction. In addition, it should be stated that counsel on both sides were asked if they had any objections to jury No. i. Each side had the opportunity to exercise its right to challenge, and plaintiff exercised it, while the defendant announced that it had no objection to the jury. The jury were then sworn on their voir dire. Thereupon counsel for the plaintiff adduced the first witness for the plaintiff.” The presiding Judge followed the proper practice in retaining jurisdiction of the same, and these exceptions are overruled.

2 The third exception is as follows: “Because, it is respectfully submitted, his Honor, the presiding Judge, erred in overruling the defendant’s objection to the following question propounded by the plaintiff’s attorney to the witness, J. I. Hazzard, collector of Prince George Council, A. E. of H., and in permitting said question to be asked, viz: ‘When did you make that record there where the name of G. E. T.

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

Related

Gantt v. Belk-Simpson Co.
174 S.E. 1 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1934)
Neely v. Love
142 S.E. 623 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1928)
Allen v. Jefferson Standard Life Insurance
137 S.E. 214 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1927)
Cope v. Jefferson Standard Life Ins. Co.
133 S.E. 440 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1926)
Clark v. Southeastern Life Ins.
85 S.E. 407 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1915)
McCarty v. Piedmont Mutual Ins.
62 S.E. 1 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1908)
Plunkett v. Piedmont Mutual Ins.
61 S.E. 893 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1908)
Morrison v. Mutual Benevolent Ass'n
59 S.E. 27 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1907)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
35 S.E. 391, 57 S.C. 16, 1900 S.C. LEXIS 7, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sparkman-v-supreme-council-american-legion-of-honor-sc-1900.