United States v. Spokane Mill Co.
| Decision Date | 08 May 1913 |
| Docket Number | 88. |
| Citation | 206 F. 999 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Washington |
| Parties | UNITED STATES v. SPOKANE MILL CO. |
Oscar Cain, U.S. Atty., of Spokane, Wash.
The present action was commenced on the 13th day of May, 1892 almost 21 years ago, to recover the value of certain timber removed from the public domain. The appearance docket shows that certain proceedings were had in the action during the years 1892 and 1893, but no further steps were taken until the 5th day of April, 1898, when a motion for a continuance was filed, by which party does not appear, as the motion itself is not among the files. The case was then permitted to lie dormant until the 8th day of October, 1912, when it was dismissed by the court, of its own motion for want of prosecution, with leave to move to reinstate within 60 days.
A motion to reinstate has been interposed, and under ordinary circumstances the motion would be granted; but the attorney for the government admits that the defendant corporation was dissolved by operation of the laws of the state of Washington several years ago for failure to pay its annual license fee and in the face of this admission it would be an idle formality to reinstate the case, only to dismiss it upon another ground.
In Hawley v. Bonanza Queen Mining Co., 61 Wash. 90, 111 P. 1073, the court held that a corporation organized under the laws of this state was dissolved by operation of law for failure to pay its annual license fee for a period of two years, or to apply for reinstatement within the time prescribed by law thereafter, and that such dissolution during the pendency of an action abated the action by mere operation of law. The proposition that a corporation is dissolved by operation of law for failure to pay its annual license fee presents a mere question of local law, upon which the decision of the highest court of the state is final, and the proposition that the dissolution of the corporation abates an action pending against it is fully supported by the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States.
In National Bank v. Colby, 88 U.S. (21 Wall.) 609, 22 L.Ed. 687, Mr. Justice Field said:
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