Petition of Therianos

Decision Date27 December 1948
Docket NumberNo. 9862.,9862.
Citation171 F.2d 886
PartiesPetition of THERIANOS et al.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Philip Dorfman, of Philadelphia, Pa., for petitioners.

Thomas F. Mount, of Philadelphia, Pa., for respondent.

Before BIGGS, Chief Judge, and GOODRICH and KALODNER, Circuit Judges.

BIGGS, Chief Judge.

We shall state in this opinion only what we deem to be essential for the disposition of the instant petition. The Consular Representative of the Consulate General of Greece, the Honorable A. Georgakopoulos, filed a petition in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania seeking the arrest and imprisonment of four seamen of Greek nationality, Therianos, Kasmas, Andreou and Zannos in order to remove them from the S. S. Syros, a privately owned vessel sailing under Greek registry, now in the Port of Philadelphia. The Consular Representative in his petition alleged, inter alia, that the four seamen had been discharged and directed to report to the Consul General for repatriation to Greece because they had committed certain offenses against the Penal and Discipline Code of the Merchant Law of Greece and are presently under indictments to be tried by the criminal court at Piraeus. The consular representative's petition is based on R.S. §§ 4079, 4080 and 4081, 22 U.S.C.A. §§ 256, 257 and 258, and upon Article XII of the Convention of December 2, 1902, proclaimed July 11, 1903, 33 Stat. 2122, as amended, negotiated by the United States and Greece.

Article XII of the Treaty as amended excludes wage disputes from the jurisdiction of consular representatives because of the provisions of the Seamen's Act of March 4, 1915, the Treaty having been amended to conform to the law of the United States in these particulars.1 The seamen excepted to the petition and the District Court overruled the exceptions. Petition of Georgakopoulos, 81 F.Supp. 411. The District Court has not yet entered an order upon its opinion or proceeded to final hearing. The four seamen have filed a petition to this court for a writ of prohibition directed to the District Court to stay all proceedings therein upon the ground that that court lacks jurisdiction.

There is a substantial dispute between the parties as to the facts upon which the petition of the Consular Representative is bottomed. It is clear that if the dispute is one respecting wages, as is asserted by the petitioners, the provisions of Article XII of the Treaty will not serve to confer jurisdiction upon the District Court.

The jurisdiction of the District Court to act upon the petition is also attacked on other grounds: first, it is argued that there has been no proclamation by the President of the United States pursuant to the last sentence of R.S. § 4079, 22 U.S.C.A. § 256, to the effect that Greece has made provision similar to that of our federal statute for executing the Treaty; and second, that the ambit of the first paragraph of Article XII is not sufficiently broad to afford the relief which the Consular Representative seeks because the "differences", referred to in the paragraph, are not such as grow out of "the internal order" of the Syros.

In the absence of findings of fact by the District Court respecting the exact nature of the dispute, we may not decide the question whether that court is without jurisdiction. As presently informed we cannot say that the District Court "is clearly without jurisdiction." This is required if the writ sought by the petitioners is to issue. See In re Rice, 155 U.S. 396, 15 S.Ct. 149, 39...

To continue reading

Request your trial
4 cases
  • Comfort Equipment Co. v. Steckler
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
    • April 20, 1954
    ...error. We so held most recently in Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission v. Welsh, 3 Cir., 1951, 188 F.2d 447. Accord: Petition of Therianos, 3 Cir., 1948, 171 F.2d 886; Hazeltine Corp. v. Kirkpatrick, 3 Cir., 1948, 165 F.2d The facts in the instant cases indicate that there was no hasty, peremp......
  • Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission v. Welsh
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit
    • April 11, 1951
    ...288, 65 L.Ed. 631. And to the same effect in this court see In re Eastman Kodak Co., 3 Cir., 1931, 48 F.2d 125 and Petition of Therianos, 3 Cir., 1948, 171 F.2d 886. 4 See 28 U.S.C. § 1291 ...
  • American Airlines v. Forman, 10917
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit
    • April 8, 1953
    ...error. We so held most recently in Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission v. Welsh, 3 Cir., 1951, 188 F.2d 447. Accord: Petition of Therianos, 3 Cir., 1948, 171 F.2d 886; Hazeltine Corp. v. Kirkpatrick, 3 Cir., 1948, 165 F.2d Thus tested, the present case is obviously inappropriate for a perempto......
  • Pennsylvania R. Co. v. Kirkpatrick
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit
    • April 2, 1953
    ...get his security since "a writ of mandamus could issue from this court only in aid of its appellate jurisdiction." 7. Petition of Therianos, 3 Cir., 1948, 171 F.2d 886, 887. Petition to order district court not to entertain suit by Greek consul for the arrest of petitioner. Dismissed. Under......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT