Swanson v. Sharp

224 F. Supp. 850, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6464
CourtDistrict Court, D. Alaska
DecidedSeptember 27, 1963
DocketCiv. No. F-15-63
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 224 F. Supp. 850 (Swanson v. Sharp) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Swanson v. Sharp, 224 F. Supp. 850, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6464 (D. Alaska 1963).

Opinion

PLUMMER, District Judge.

This cause comes before the court on plaintiff’s motion to remand to the Superior Court for the State of Alaska. The question presented by plaintiff’s motion is whether garnishment proceedings commenced and pending in the State Superior Court may be removed to this court by garnishee-defendant.

On June 14, 1963, a judgment was entered in the Superior Court for the State of Alaska, Fourth Judicial District, in Cause No. 61-323, entitled George Swanson, Plaintiff, v. Melvin Sharp, Defendant, for the sum of $38,-821.00, with interest thereon at 6% per annum from date of judgment, and costs of suit amounting to $429.17, together with attorney’s fees of $4,732.10, making a total of $43,982.27.

Thereafter a writ of execution issued and a notice of levy was served on garnishee-defendant. No return having been made thereon plaintiff, on July 12, 1963, moved the court for the entry of an order pursuant to Rule 89(f), Rules of Civil Procedure, State of Alaska.1 Included in plaintiff’s motion was a request that judgment be entered against the said garnishee for any monies which were found to be due to the defendant Sharp from said garnishee, to-wit: $38,-821.00, with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from June 14, 1963, costs of suit amounting to $429.17, together with attorney’s fees of $4,732.10, making a total of $43,982.27 with interest accruing at the rate of $6.47 per day from June 14, 1963.

On July 22, 1963, the State Superior Court entered an order which in part required garnishee-defendant to serve upon plaintiff’s attorney an appearance or defense to plaintiff’s motion within 20 days after service of the order, exclusive of date of service, and providing that if [851]*851garnishee-defendant failed to do so in compliance with the court’s order, “judgment may be taken against you for the relief demanded in the motion.”

Thereafter garnishee-defendant timely removed the action to this court. The petition for removal alleges diversity of citizenship and sets forth facts showing that the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $10,000.00, exclusive of interest and costs.

Plaintiff’s motion to remand was filed on August 23, 1963. It is plaintiff’s contention that since the present action arose out of a garnishment proceeding it is not subject to removal under § 1441 (a) of Title 28 U.S.C.A., and that it must therefore be remanded to the State Superior Court.

A discussion of the issue presented by plaintiff’s motion to remand is found in Moore’s Federal Practice, Second Edition, Vol. 1A, ¶ 0.167, § [12-3], pp. 1102-1105:

“If the plaintiff obtains judgment he may reach property of the judgment debtor in the hands of a third party through use of the garnishment process.. Where garnishment proceedings are first instituted after rendition of judgment, in aid of execution, the garnishee’s right to remove depends upon whether the garnishment action is an independent suit, since for removal purposes an action must be independent, not supplementary.
“A notion has developed that the federal courts, in determining the removability of garnishment proceedings, are bound, under Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins [304 U.S. 64, 58 Sup.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188, 114 A.L.R. 1487 (1938)] to adhere to the particular state’s construction of its garnishment statute. Accordingly, perhaps the majority of lower federal courts have deferred to state court characterization of garnishment actions. Hence if state-court decisions view garnishment, proceedings as ancillary to the original suit, removal usually is not permitted; if garnishment is treated, as an independent suit, removal is-usually allowed if diversity and the-other jurisdictional requisites are: present.
“This does not seem to be the' proper approach, although, of course,, if the federal court had made an independent. analysis, in many instances the federal characterization would have been the same as the state. It is true that state law fashions its garnishment proceeding, and a federal court should accordingly recognize this in determining the nature of the proceeding that the state has created. But. the state characterization of the proceeding as ancillary or independent, should not be controlling upon the-federal court for the purpose of determining whether or not the proceeding is sufficiently an independent, one for purposes of removal.
“The Supreme Court has squarely-held that the right of removal under-the federal statutes is to be determined under federal law by the federal courts and that classifications, by the state courts can neither limit nor enlarge that right.2 Thus the Eighth Circuit has properly held that the federal courts are not bound, by state law classification of garnishment proceedings. Randolph v. Employers Mutual Liability Ins. Co., [260 F.2d 461 (8th Cir. 1958)] permitted removal of garnishment proceedings, notwithstanding that the-proceedings were regarded as ancillary to the main suit under state-law, holding that the garnishment. [852]*852was an independent ‘civil action’ within the contemplation of § 1441 (a).”

Section 1441(a) of Title 28 U.S.C.A., provides as follows:

“(a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by Act of Congress, any civil action brought in a State court of which the district courts of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the defendants, to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where such action is pending.”

Section 1332 of Title 28 U.S.C.A., provides in part as follows:

“(a) The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $10,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and is between — ■
(1) citizens of different States: ******
“(c) For the purposes of this section and section 1441 of this title, a corporation shall be deemed a citizen of any State by which it has been incorporated and of the State where it has its principal place of business.”

The garnishee proceedings provided by Rule 89(f), Rules of Civil Procedure, (attached hereto as Exhibit A) is a rule of practice and procedure promulgated by the Supreme Court of the State of Alaska under the authority of Art. 4, § 15 of the Alaska Constitution which provides in part:

“The supreme court shall make and promulgate rules governing the administration of all courts. It shall make and promulgate rules governing practice and procedure in civil and criminal cases in all courts. * * * ”

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Bluebook (online)
224 F. Supp. 850, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6464, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/swanson-v-sharp-akd-1963.