Frances Miedreich v. Constanze Lauenstein

• Citation: 232 U.S. 236,58 L.Ed. 584,34 S.Ct. 309
• Decision Date: 02 February 1914
• Docket Number: No. 20,20
• Parties: FRANCES A. MIEDREICH, Plff. in Err., v. CONSTANZE LAUENSTEIN
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

232 U.S. 236

34 S.Ct. 309

58 L.Ed. 584

FRANCES A. MIEDREICH, Plff. in Err.,

v CONSTANZE LAUENSTEIN.

No. 20.

Argued and submitted October 31, 1913.

Decided February 2, 1914.

Mr. George K. Denton for plaintiff in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 237-241 intentionally omitted] Messrs. Louis T. Michener, Perry G. Michener, and Peter Maier for defendant in error.

Mr. Justice Day delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff in error, by complaint filed in the superior court of Vanderburgh county, state of Indiana, sought to vacate a judgment of foreclosure rendered by that court in a prior case, and to be permitted to redeem the property therin involved, and prays for other relief; and, judgment having been entered in favor of the defendant in error, which was affirmed by the supreme court of Indiana (172 Ind. 140, 86 N. E. 963, 87 N. E. 1029), this writ of error was sued out.

The facts, so far as pertinent to our review, are: The complaint, in the fourth paragraph, alleged that the plaintiff in error was the owner of certain property, subject to a mortgage foreclosed in a former suit; that she was a minor when the foreclosure proceedings were had; that she was not a resident of Vanderburgh county, where the action was brought, but was and had been for many years a resident of Gibson county, and that she was not summoned in such action, had no knowledge of its pendency, and did not waive service or enter her appearance therein. It was further alleged that the plaintiff in error was not amenable to the jurisdiction of the sheriff of Vanderburgh county, but that, although she was not served with process, he made a false return of a pretended summons, by which the court was wrongfully imposed upon, and, being so advised, at the instance of attorneys for the predecessor of defendant in error, the court appointed a guardian ad litem for her, who answered in the suit, and that a decree was rendered, her property sold, and bid in by the predecessor of the defendant in error. The demurrer of the defendant in error to this paragraph, thus construed, was sustained by the lower court, and its decision affirmed by the supreme court. Other paragraphs of the complaint alleged fraud on the part of the predecessor of the defendant in error and her attorneys. The lower court found against this charge, and the supreme court, after stating that there was legal evidence to support the finding, refused to disturb it.

The record is meager of attempts to raise a Federal question by reason of alleged violations of rights secured by the Constitution of the United States, aptly set forth and referred to in some proper way, and it is contended by the defendant in error that the writ should be dismissed for that reason. We find in the opinion of the supreme court of Indiana a statement that 'both parties have treated this suit as one arising under the provisions of the 14th Amendment to the Federal Constitution, and as presenting the questions of due process of law and rights guaranteed by article 1, § 21, of the state Constitution,' and the court, after making this statement, takes up the various grounds of attack upon the original decree for alleged fraudulent service or want of service upon the minor defendant in the foreclosure proceedings and disposes of them against the contention of the plaintiff in error. There is no repudiation of the position of both parties that questions were raised under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, and we think the court may be fairly taken to have regarded such questions as duly before it for consideration. Where a state court holds that a Federal question is made before it, according to its practice, and proceeds to determine it, this court will regard the question as duly made. San Jos e Land & Water Co. v. San Jos e Ranch Co. 189 U. S. 177, 179-180, 47 L. ed. 765, 766, 768, 23 Sup. Ct. Rep. 487; Montana ex rel. Haire v. Rice, 204 U. S. 291, 299, 51 L. ed. 490, 494, 27 Sup. Ct. Rep. 281; Chambers v. Baltimore & O. R. Co. 207 U. S. 142, 148, 52 L. ed. 143, 146, 28 Sup. Ct. Rep. 34; Atchison, T. & S. F. R. Co. v. Sowers, 213 U. S. 55, 62, 53 L. ed. 695, 697, 29 Sup. Ct. Rep. 397.

In the opinion of the supreme court upon rehearing, the charge that the service of process was fraudulently procured by the predecessor in title of the defendant in error or her attorneys was held to be foreclosed by the findings of the court below, and the supreme court held that the findings were supported by testimony in the record showing competent evidence to that end. It is urged that upon this writ of error this court should re-examine the conclusions of fact just referred to and the rulings of the supreme court of Indiana in respect thereto. This court has repeatedly held that in cases coming to it from the supreme court of a state, it accepts as binding the findings upon issues of fact duly made in that court. Waters-Pierce Oil Co. v. Texas, 212 U. S. 86, 107, 53 L. ed. 417, 428, 29 Sup. Ct. Rep. 220: Rankin v. Emigh, 218 U. S. 27, 34, 54 L. ed. 915, 920, 30 Sup. Ct. Rep. 672; Kerfoot v. Farmers' & M. Bank, 218 U. S. 281, 288, 54 L. ed. 1042, 1043, 31 Sup. Ct. Rep. 14. That principle is applicable here. The case does not come within the exceptional class of cases where what purports to be a finding of fact is not strictly such, but is so involved with and dependent upon questions of law bearing upon the alleged Federal right as to be a decision of those questions rather than of a pure question of fact, or where there is that entire lack of evidence to support the conclusion upon the Federal question that gives this court the right of review. Kansas City Southern R. Co. v. C. H. Albers Commission Co. 223 U. S. 573, 591, 56 L. ed. 556, 565, 32 Sup. Ct. Rep. 316; Creswill v. Grand Lodge K. P. 225 U. S. 246, 261, 56 L. ed. 1074, 1080, 32 Sup. Ct. Rep. 822; Southern P. Co. v. Schuyler, 227 U. S. 601, 611, 57 L. ed. 662, 669, 43 L.R.A.(N.S.) 901, 33 Sup. Ct. Rep. 277; Portland R. Light & P. Co. v. Railroad Commission, 229 U. S. 397, 411, 412, 57 L. ed. 1248, 1258, 1259, 33 Sup. Ct. Rep. 820.

The supreme court of Indiana stated the question upon the decision of which the Federal question of due process arises as follows:

'The question is then presented whether the allegations that appellant was a minor, was not a resident of Vanderburgh county, was a resident of Gibson county, and had been for many years, that no summons was served on her, that she had no knowledge of the proceedings, did not waive service, nor did anyone for her, or in her behalf or with her consent, enter appearance for her, that she was not amenable to the jurisdiction of the sheriff of Vanderburgh county, that, notwithstanding that she was not served with process, the sheriff of Vanderburgh county made a false return of a summons, and the court was wrongfully imposed upon by such false return, and, being thus falsely advised, at the instance of appellant's attorneys [i. e., the attorneys for the predecessor of the defendant in error], appointed a guardian ad litem for her, constitute a charge of fraud. The return was regular on its face. The court had jurisdiction of the subject-matter, and apparently jurisdiction of the person of appellant. The false return was not procured by the fraud, collusion, or imposition of the plaintiff or...