Lim Kwock Soon v. Brownell, Civ. A. No. 7022.

• Decision Date: 19 July 1956
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 7022.
• Citation: 143 F. Supp. 388
• Parties: LIM KWOCK SOON and Lim Kwock Min, Plaintiffs, v. Herbert BROWNELL, Jr., Attorney General of the United States of America, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas

143 F. Supp. 388

LIM KWOCK SOON and Lim Kwock Min, Plaintiffs, v. Herbert BROWNELL, Jr., Attorney General of the United States of America, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 7022.

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

July 19, 1956.

Maverick, Putman & Putman, Harold D. Putman and Joseph Reid, San Antonio, Tex., for plaintiffs.

Malcolm R. Wilkey, U. S. Atty., and Sidney Farr, Asst. U. S. Atty., Houston, Tex., for defendant.

INGRAHAM, District Judge.

This is a suit for declaratory judgment to adjudge and declare that plaintiffs are citizens of the United States of America, pursuant to the provisions of Section 503 of the Nationality Act of 1940, 8 U.S.C.A. § 903,¹ then in effect. Plaintiffs, born in China, base their claim to American citizenship upon the claim that they are the natural and legitimate sons of Lim Thl, an American citizen. Plaintiff Lim Kwock Soon will be referred to for brevity and convenience as Soon, plaintiff Lim Kwock Min will be referred to for brevity and convenience as Min, and Lim Thl, the claimed father, will be referred to for brevity and convenience as Thl.

Plaintiffs' evidence consists of the testimony of Thl, Soon and Min supporting the claims of plaintiffs. Thl testified that he went to China about 1931 and there married, according to the customs of China, Lee Yuck Gee, the claimed mother. Thl testified that he has lived in Houston, Texas, for over twenty years, where he is engaged in the grocery business, except for about one year spent in China from 1947 to 1948. During this stay in China, according to his testimony, he fathered a son named Hing.

Thl, Soon and Min each testified that Soon was born CR 21, 8th month, 8th day (September 8, 1932, by our calendar), and that Min was born CR 22, 10th month, 10th day (November 27, 1933, by our calendar), and that Hing was born CR 37, 3rd month, 3rd day. It was testified that the paternal grandmother was born the 2nd month, 2nd day, year not indicated. Plaintiffs' evidence in these respects was given entirely by the oral testimony of Thl, Soon and Min, there being no documentary evidence of such matters as the marriage of Thl and Gee or of the birth of plaintiffs.

By Pre-Trial Order it was stipulated that the transcript of the testimony given by plaintiffs before the Board of Special Inquiry Hearing held in San Francisco, California, begun October 9, 1951, and concluded April 25, 1952, and the accompanying exhibits, might be used as evidence in this trial, subject to the right of either party to object to the admissibility of any portion thereof. Among such documents are photostatic copies of two American Express Company money orders (DX-15), each issued at Houston, Texas, "9-11-1950", each in the amount of $50, one payable to Lim Kwock Soon and the other payable to Lim Kwock Min. Soon testified that the money orders were sent to them by Thl and that he, Soon, cashed both money orders and gave Min his part. Also among the documents is a photostatic copy of a letter written entirely in Chinese script (DX-7). Soon testified that he and Min came to the United States in 1951 and that he was given an envelope by the United States Consulate at Hong Kong in which was enclosed a number of documents to be delivered to the authorities when they reached the United States. He testified that he did not open the envelope and that he delivered it to the authorities here intact. The letter (DX-7) was among such documents. English translation (DX-16) of the letter is as follows:

"My son, Bok Hing:

"I am sending back from Lee's place two drafts (U. S.) each in the amount of $50. Interpreter's Note: (At...