Chemical Company v. Kirven

• Citation: 215 U.S. 252,54 L.Ed. 179,30 S.Ct. 78
• Decision Date: 06 December 1909
• Docket Number: No. 18,VIRGINIA-CAROLINA,18
• Parties: CHEMICAL COMPANY, Plff. in Err., v. J. P. KIRVEN
• Court: United States Supreme Court

215 U.S. 252

30 S.Ct. 78

54 L.Ed. 179

VIRGINIA-CAROLINA CHEMICAL COMPANY, Plff. in Err.,

v J. P. KIRVEN.

No. 18.

Argued November 2, 1909.

Decided December 6, 1909.

Messrs. P. A. Willcox, Frederic d. McKenney, F. L. Willcox, and Henry E. Davis for plaintiff in error.

Messrs.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 252-254 intentionally omitted] Charles A. Douglas, W. F. Stevenson, and E. O. Woods for defendant in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 254-255 intentionally omitted] Mr. Justice McKenna delivered the opinion of the court:

This case involves the question as to whether the state courts gave due force and effect to a judgment of the circuit court of the United States for the district of South Carolina in an action brought by plaintiff in error against the defendant in error.

The action in the case at bar was brought by defendant in error, whom we shall call Kirven, against plaintiff in error, whom we shall call the Chemical Company, for damages resulting from the defective manufacture of certain fertilizers bought by Kirven of the Chemical Company, through one McCall, to whom he gave his note for $2,228. The allegation of complainant is:

'That the said fertilizers, to wit, acid phosphate and dissolved bone, had been manufactured with such gross negligence and want of skill that, instead of being of advantage to the crops to which they were applied, they destroyed the same in large part, and were not only worthless to the plaintiff, but, by destroying his crops damaged him very heavily, and by the injury which was inflicted on his crop of cotton and corn by fertilizers which were manufactured and sold for use upon them, he was damaged in the sum of $1,995.'

The Chemical Company, in its answer, set, up, among other defenses, the judgment of the circuit court of the United States. The plea was not sustained, and judgment was entered for Kirven for the amount sued for, which was affirmed by the supreme court of the state. 77 S. C. 493, 58 S. E. 424.

The facts, so far as necessary to be stated, are as follows: The Chemical Company, being a New Jersey corporation, brought action against Kirven in the circuit court of the United States for the district of South Carolina on the note before mentioned. Kirven, among other defenses, set up that the note was given for fertilizers, 'for which he agreed to pay a sound price, which is set forth in the note sued upon, and were purchased for the use of the defendant himself and his tenants and customers in making a crop for the year in which the said note was given, but the said fertilizers were so unskilfully manipulated and manufactured and prepared, and were of such inferior quality, that instead of being a benefit to the crops of defendant and his tenants and customers, to whom he furnished the same, they were deleterious and destructive to the crops, and destroyed the same in large part, and there was an entire failure of consideration to the defendant for said note.'

Kirven subsequently filed a supplementary answer, in which he omittted, the Chemical Company not objecting, the defense above set out, but pleaded as a counterclaim certain proceedings instituted by the Chemical Company in North Carolina, in which it attached certain cotton belonging to Kirven, sold the same, and 'applied and appropriated the proceeds to its own use and benefit.' The value of the cotton and the amount 'so seized and appropriated' were alleged to be twenty-four hundred and fifty dollars ($2,450).

Kirven, when testifying as to the purchase of the fertilizers, said: 'I did not know anything until later on, there was a complete destruction of my crop.' Counsel for the company objected 'to the latter clause, on the ground that that whole question is taken out of the complaint.' The objection was sustained and the answer stricken out. The Chemical Company recovered judgment for nine hundred eleven dollars and seven cents ($911.07).

A motion is made to dismiss the writ of error, on the grounds (1) that the assignment of errors in the supreme court of the state lacked certainty of specification, as it only stated that the refusal by the trial court to give proper and full credit to the judgment of the circuit court 'thereby denied to the defendant [the Chemical Company] a right arising under the authority of the United States.' This, it is contended, is not sufficient to raise a Federal right, and the following cases are cited: Chicago & N. W. R. Co. v. Chicago, 164 U. S. 454, 41 L. ed. 511, 17 Sup. Ct. Rep. 129; Clarke v. McDade, 165 U. S. 168, 41 L. ed. 673, 17 Sup. Ct. Rep. 284; Miller v. Cornwall R. Co. 168 U. S. 131, 42 L. ed. 409, 18 Sup. Ct. Rep. 34; Harding v. Illinois, 196 U. S. 78, 49 L. ed. 394, 25 Sup. Ct. Rep. 176; Thomas v. Iowa, 209 U. S. 258, 52 L. ed. 782, 28 Sup. Ct. Rep. 487.

The cases are not applicable. In neither of them was the contention under the Constitution of the United States identified or passed upon. In the case at bar there is a definite right arising under the authority of the United States, and the decision of the court was in effect against it. The case falls within Crescent City L. S. L. & S. H. Co. v. Butchers' Union S. H. & L. S. L. Co. 120 U. S. 141, 30 L. ed. 614, 7 Sup. Ct. Rep. 472; Pittsburgh, C. C. & St. L. R. Co. v. Long Island Loan & T. Co. 172 U. S. 494, 43 L. ed. 528, 19 Sup. Ct. Rep. 238; Deposit Bank v. Frankfort, 191 U. S. 499, 48 L. ed. 276, 24 Sup. Ct. Rep. 154.

The question on the merits is a narrow one. Its solution depends upon the application of well-known principles,—too well known to need much more than statement. It is established that the bar of a judgment in another action for the same claim or demand between the same parties extends to not only what was pleaded or litigated in the first action, but what might have been pleaded or litigated. If the second action is upon a different claim or demand, the bar of the judgment is limited to that which was actually litigated and determined. Cromwell v. Sac County, 94 U. S. 351, 24 L. ed. 195; Northern P. R. Co. v. Slagth, 205 U. S. 122, 51 L. ed. 738, 27 Sup. Ct. Rep. 442. Of course, as contended by the Chemical Company, there are some defenses which are necessarily negatived by the judgment,—are presumed never to have existed. These are such as go to the validity of the plaintiff's demand in its inception or show its performance, such as is said in Cromwell v. Sac County, supra, as forgery, want of consideration, or payment. But this court has pointed out a distinction between such defenses and those which, though arising out of the transaction constituting plaintiff's claim, may cut it down or give rise to an antagonistic demand. Of such defenses we said, speaking through Mr. Justice Holmes in Merchants' Heat & Light Co. v. J. B. Clow & Sons, 204 U. S. 286, 51 L. ed. 488, 27 Sup. Ct. Rep. 285, that the right to plead them as a...