Dallyn v. Brady

• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania
• Citation: Dallyn v. Brady, 205 F. 430 (M.D. Pa. 1913)
• Decision Date: 02 June 1913
• Docket Number: 398.
• Parties: DALLYN et al. v. BRADY.

205 F. 430

DALLYN et al. v. BRADY.

No. 398.

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania.

June 2, 1913

Fred H Ely, of Philadelphia, Pa., and H. C. Brenneman, of York, Pa for plaintiffs.

Johnson & McNarney, of Emporium, Pa., for defendant.

WITMER District Judge.

This court heretofore, in overruling a plea to the jurisdiction held that the plaintiff might institute and maintain his action in the District Court after January 1, 1912, since the right of action in the Circuit Court arose and was complete prior to that date; the amount claimed and in controversy exclusive of interest and costs, being $2,002.09.

Since then the court's attention was specially directed, by supplemental plea, to the fact that $2.09 of the amount claimed in plaintiffs' declaration is for protest fees which it is argued should be deducted from the amount of plaintiffs' claim and excluded from the computation of the jurisdictional amount. The matter in dispute, exclusive of interest and costs, does not exceed the sum of $2,000, if the protest fee is not to be regarded as a portion or part of the amount in controversy. Under the well-established rule in Pennsylvania, the plaintiffs included in their declaration or statement of claim the item paid for protesting the bill on which the suit is rested. The protest charges are a part of the...