Johnson v. Texas Department of Corrections, Civ. A. No. 73-H-1278.

• Decision Date: 11 April 1974
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 73-H-1278.
• Parties: Shirley JOHNSON, Plaintiff, v. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas

373 F. Supp. 1108

Shirley JOHNSON, Plaintiff, v. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 73-H-1278.

United States District Court, S. D. Texas, Houston Division.

April 11, 1974.

J. Jerry Merchant of Merchant, Barfield & Poff, Amarillo, Tex., for plaintiff.

John L. Hill, Atty. Gen. of Tex., Jack Sparks, Asst. Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

NOEL, District Judge.

This is a tort action arising out of the fatal crash of a Texas Department of Corrections airplane into the crest of a Colorado mountain. An escaped prisoner, William Perry Johnson, who was being transferred following his capture in the State of Oregon, and the two pilots of the aircraft lost their lives in the crash. The prisoner's widow (whom he had allegedly married in Oklahoma after his escape from prison) brings this action against the Texas Department of Corrections (hereinafter referred to as TDC) and the Executrix and Administratrix of the estates of the deceased pilots. Jurisdiction is predicated upon 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Recently, plaintiff entered into a stipulation dismissing all parties from the suit except the TDC.

Defendant TDC has filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, a motion for summary judgment. As grounds for said motion, defendant proffers five separate reasons why the instant complaint may not be maintained. Defendant's primary contention for dismissal is founded upon the right of a State (or its agencies) not to be sued without the consent of the State—the familiar doctrine of sovereign immunity.

However, before the Court can investigate whether the TDC may invoke sovereign immunity or whether it has been waived under state law, the jurisdiction of this Court must be clearly demonstrated. There is never a presumption in favor of federal jurisdiction, but rather the basis for such jurisdiction must be affirmatively evidenced by the party invoking it. Grace v. American Central Ins. Co., 109 U.S. 278, 3 S.Ct. 207, 27 L.Ed. 932 (1883). The obvious reason for the rule is that the United States District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, simply "a creatures of statute possessing only such jurisdiction as the statutes expressly confer, and this jurisdiction must always affirmatively appear." LeMieux v. Tremont Lumber Co., 140 F.2d 387, 389 (5th Cir. 1944). The prerequisites to the exercise of jurisdiction are specifically defined. They are conditions which must be met by the party seeking jurisdiction in his favor. He must in his pleading allege the facts essential to show jurisdiction, failing which he has no standing. McNutt v. General Motors Acceptance Corp. of Indiana, 298 U.S. 179, 189, 56 S.Ct. 780, 80 L.Ed. 1135 (1935).

Jurisdiction here was premised on 28 U.S.C. 1332 which provides in pertinent part, "The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $10,000 . . . . and is between . . . . citizens of different states." It is uncontroverted that plaintiff is a resident of and therefore a citizen of Oklahoma. Yet, for diversity jurisdiction to exist, the TDC must also fall within the definition of the term "citizen."

It is well established that a State cannot be made a party defendant in a federal district court by a private litigant based upon diversity of citizenship. State Highway Commission of Wyoming v. Utah Construction Co., 278 U.S. 194, 199-200, 49 S.Ct. 104, 73 L.Ed. 262 (1929). States are simply not "citizens" within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. 1332. Moreover, suits against state agencies are considered suits against the state, except where the agency is endowed with such a separate and distinct existence that its activities are not those of the state. Craig v. Southern Natural Gas Co., 125 F.2d 66 (5th Cir. 1942). The best and most appropriate source for discovering the status of the TDC vis-a-vis the State of Texas lies in the pronouncements of the ...