Red River Cattle Co v. Needham

• Decision Date: 05 January 1891
• Citation: 34 L.Ed. 799,11 S.Ct. 208,137 U.S. 632
• Parties: RED RIVER CATTLE CO. v. NEEDHAM et al
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

137 U.S. 632

11 S.Ct. 208

34 L.Ed. 799

RED RIVER CATTLE CO. v. NEEDHAM et al.

January 5, 1891.

Sawnie Robertson, for plaintiff in error.

W. Hallett Phillips, for defendants in error.

FULLER, C. J.

This was an action of trespass to try title brought by Needham and others against the Red River Cattle Company in the circuit court of the United States for the northern district of Texas. The petition alleged the land to be of the reasonable value of $4,400. Defendant pleaded not guilty and the statute of limitations. A verdict was rendered in favor of plaintiffs for an undivided one-half interest in the land sued for, and judgment was entered thereon January 24, 1890. A motion for a new trial was overruled on the 10th of February, and on that day the defendant filed three affidavits, tending to show that the half interest had a value in excess of $5,000, whereupon a writ of error was allowed. On the 22d of February plaintiffs filed a motion to set aside the allowance of the writ of error, (stating want of notice of the application for it,) accompanied by four affidavits and a letter from the county where the land was situated, tending to establish that the value of one-half was far less than $5,000, upon which the circuit court entered the following order: 'On this day came on to be heard the motion of the plaintiffs to set aside the writ of error granted herein, and the court having heard and considered said motion, and being of the opinion that the question of the value of the land in controversy is a question that the trial judge is not called upon to decide, but one to be determined in the supreme court, on the affidavits, if they see fit to consider them, in order to determine their jurisdiction, it is ordered by the court that said motion be refused.' The record having been filed in this court, and notice of a motion to dismiss given, plaintiff in error, without leave first obtained, submits, with its brief upon the motion, eight additional affidavits in reference to value, and defendants in error ask that, if these are considered, time may be given to them to produce counter-affidavits. As stated by Mr. Chief Justice TANEY, in Richmond v. Milwaukee, 21 How. 391, in cases in which the value does not, according to the usual forms of proceeding, appear in the pleadings or evidence in the record, affidavits have been received to show that the value is large enough to give jurisdiction to this court, (Course v. Stead, 4 Dall. 22; Williamson v. Kincaid, Id. 19;) but, 'in Rush v. Parker, 5 Cranch, 287, Mr. Justice LIVINGSTON expressed his opinion strongly against giving time to file affidavits of value, and the court refused to continue the case for that purpose.' And the chief justice added that a practice to postpone or reinstate a case in order to give the party time to furnish such affidavits 'would be irregular and inconvenient, and might sometimes produce conflicting affdavits, and bring on a controversy about value occupying as much of the time of the court as the merits of the case.' The rule was then declared that, 'where the value is stated in the pleadings or proceedings of the court below, affidavits here have never been received to vary it, or enhance it, in order to give juisd iction.' In Talkington v. Dumbleton, 123 U. S. 745, 8 Sup. Ct. Rep. 335, it was accordingly held...