Martinez v. Fox Valley Bus Lines

• Decision Date: 24 December 1936
• Docket Number: No. 45094.,45094.
• Citation: 17 F. Supp. 576
• Parties: MARTINEZ v. FOX VALLEY BUS LINES, Inc.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

17 F. Supp. 576

MARTINEZ v. FOX VALLEY BUS LINES, Inc.

No. 45094.

District Court, N. D. Illinois, E. D.

December 24, 1936.

Hubbard, Baker & Rice, of Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff.

Alschuler, Putnam & Johnson, of Aurora, Ill., and Chas. H. Pegler, of Chicago, Ill., for defendant.

HOLLY, District Judge.

Plaintiff sues to recover for personal injuries resulting from the alleged negligence of the defendant. Defendant set up two defenses, first, it denied the negligence charged in the complaint, and, secondly, it charged that the plaintiff was an alien whose entry into the United States was surreptitious, that he had not presented himself at any legal port of entry, or at any consular office or make application for an immigration visa, that no immigration visa was ever issued to him, that at the time of his entry he was likely to become a public charge, that he is unlawfully within this country, is subject to deportation, and therefore "is not entitled to bring any suit in the courts of the United States. * * *" Plaintiff has moved to strike this defense.

The position of the defendant is that if an alien, citizen of a friendly country, is unlawfully in the United States he may be despoiled of his property, contracts with him may be breached, that he may be unlawfully assaulted and injured, and that he is without redress, except as the authorities may choose to prosecute criminally any one who, in his dealing with the alien, has violated some criminal law. I cannot agree with this contention.

It is within the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress to determine what aliens may enter this country and their rights and disabilities while here. Congress has legislated on these subjects, but at no time has it declared that any alien, either lawfully or unlawfully within this country, shall be debarred from access to the courts. On the contrary, it has expressly provided (Civil Rights Act, U.S.C. title 8, § 41 8 U.S.C.A. § 41) that all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right in every State and Territory to make and enforce contracts, sue and be sued, and to the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of persons and property as is enjoyed by white citizens. This act was a constitutional exercise of the power of Congress to enact appropriate legislation for the enforcement of the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. Gibson v. Mississippi, 162 U.S. 565, 16 S. Ct. 904, 40 L.Ed. 1075.

One injured as a result of the negligence of another has a right of action against that other to recover damages sustained by reason of such injury. That right of action is property. Kent's Commentaries (Comstock Ed. 2) 473; Chicago, B. & Q. R. R. Co. v. Dunn, 52 Ill. 260, 264, 4 Am.Rep. 606. It is the general rule that aliens, other then enemy aliens, who are sui juris and who are not incapacitated by the laws of the place where the action is brought, may maintain suits in the proper courts to vindicate their rights and redress their wrongs. Taylor v. Carpenter (C.C.Mass.) 23 Fed.Cas.No.13,785, p. 744, Janusis v. Long, 284 Mass. 403, 188 N. E. 228, Silosberg v. N. Y. Life Ins. Co., 244 N.Y. 482, 155 N.E. 749, Lew You Ying v. Kay, 174 Wash. 83, 24 P.(2d) 596.

While an alien is permitted by the government of the United States to remain in the country, he is entitled to the protection of the laws in regard to his rights of person and property. Fong Yue Ting v. United States, 149 U.S. 698, 724, 13 S.Ct. 1016, 37 L.Ed. 905. He is entitled to the benefits of the Fourteenth Amendment, Anton v. Van Winkle (D.C.) 297 F....