Missouri Pac. R. Co. v. Tompkins
| Decision Date | 29 January 1923 |
| Docket Number | (No. 124.) |
| Parties | MISSOURI PAC. R. CO. v. TOMPKINS. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Clark County; Geo. R. Haynie, Judge.
Action by W. V. Tompkins, administrator of the estate of J. U. Brown, deceased, against the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Reversed and remanded.
E. B. Kinsworthy and R. E. Wiley, both of Little Rock, for appellant.
R. P. Hamby and Tompkins, McRae & Tompkins, all of Prescott, for appellee.
W. V. Tompkins, administrator of the estate of J. U. Brown, deceased, brought this suit against the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company to recover damages in the sum of $30,000, on account of his intestate being negligently killed by one of the defendant's trains.
On December 3, 1920, J. U. Brown, while driving his automobile across a public railroad crossing over the defendant's railroad in the city of Prescott, Ark., was struck by one of the defendant's passenger trains, with the result that the automobile was demolished and Brown was instantly killed. Brown left a widow and two minor children dependent upon him.
The case was tried before a jury in the Clark circuit court, and there was a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff in the sum of $7,500.
The Missouri Pacific Railroad Company duly filed its petition for removal of the action to the district court of the United States, and as grounds therefor alleged that it was a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Missouri, with its general offices and principal place of business in the city of St. Louis in said state.
The petition further alleged that the plaintiff is a citizen and resident of the state of Arkansas, and that the amount in controversy in this action exceeds $3,000, exclusive of interest and costs. The petition further alleged that J. U. Brown was killed by one of the defendant's passenger trains while attempting to drive an automobile across a public street crossing in the city of Prescott, Ark., and that said accident happened without fault or carelessness on the part of the defendant. The petitioner also filed its bond for the removal of the action as required by law.
The Clark circuit court denied the petition of the defendant for the removal of the cause, and proceeded with its trial with the result above stated. The case is here on appeal.
If the cause was removable, the circuit court was without jurisdiction to proceed with the trial, and its judgment must be reversed for this reason, whether it might otherwise be sustained or not. The ground of removal was the diverse citizenship of the parties. The petition for removal alleged that the plaintiff was a...
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