91 F.3d 121 (1st Cir. 1996), 95-1933, Francis v. Goodman

Citation91 F.3d 121
Party NameIngrid A.M. FRANCIS and Robert Francis, Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. David GOODMAN and Karen Dunnett, Defendants, Appellees.
Case DateAugust 01, 1996
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals, U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 121

91 F.3d 121 (1st Cir. 1996)

Ingrid A.M. FRANCIS and Robert Francis, Plaintiffs, Appellants,

v.

David GOODMAN and Karen Dunnett, Defendants, Appellees.

No. 95-1933.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit

August 1, 1996

Editorial Note:

This opinion appears in the Federal reporter in a table titled "Table of Decisions Without Reported Opinions". (See FI CTA1 Rule 36 regarding use of unpublished opinions)

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

D.Mass.

AFFIRMED.

Loretta M. Smith, with whom Charles A. Goglia, Jr. and William E. Ryckman, Jr. were on brief for appellants.

Hilary B. Miller for appellees.

TORRUELLA, Chief Judge, COFFIN, Senior Circuit Judge, and CYR, Circuit Judge.

CYR, Circuit Judge.

Following our remand for findings of fact and conclusions of law, see Francis v. Goodman, 81 F.3d 5 (1st Cir.1996), the district court found that Rose had established the predicate for diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1) (1994), id. at 6-7. As its determination that Rose intended to remain a New York domiciliary is not clearly erroneous, Lundquist v. Precision Valley Aviation, Inc., 946 F.2d 8, 11 (1st Cir.1991), we affirm the district court judgment.

The district court considered the appropriate factors in determining Rose's domiciliary intent. See Bank One, Tex., N.A. v. Montle, 964 F.2d 48, 50 (1st Cir.1992) (listing factors), opinion after remand, 974 F.2d 220 (1st Cir.1992). Although Rose owned a home, practiced law, and lived on Nantucket for a number of years, he owned a home in New York (where he kept his most valuable possessions), retained his bar membership and driver's license in New York, and maintained the bulk of his bank and investment accounts, filed tax returns, and continued to vote in New York by absentee ballot, see id. (voter registration a "weighty" factor). The district court thus possessed diversity jurisdiction. See Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 574 (1985) ("Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder's choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous.").

In 1984, Francis and her son inherited a commercial property on Main Street, Nantucket. She met Rose in August 1985 and an intimate relationship developed. Rose obtained a Benetton clothing franchise in late 1985, and asked Francis if Rose's company, Nanben Corporation ("Nanben"), could operate a retail store at Francis' Main Street location. Individually represented by retained counsel, the parties negotiated and entered into a lease on March 6, 1986. During this time, Francis began living with Rose. She worked with him at the store as well.

In November 1989, Nanben failed to pay the monthly rent due Francis. Rose explained that he owed Benetton for spring and summer inventory. In April 1990, with Nanben four months behind in its rent, Francis told Rose: "You owe me a lot of money here, and I want to do something. Should I do something?" Rose responded, "No, you don't have to do anything. Trust me. Just have patience. You will get paid." Despite similar assurances from Rose, Nanben continued to lag behind in rent payments through April 1991.

In late June 1991, Francis and Rose stopped living together but remained friends. Rose had handled various legal matters for Francis during their intimate relationship, but in June 1992 Francis again...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT