Vaughan v. Empresas Hondurenas, SA
| Decision Date | 03 December 1948 |
| Docket Number | No. 12426.,12426. |
| Citation | 171 F.2d 46 |
| Parties | VAUGHAN v. EMPRESAS HONDURENAS, S. A. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
George Red and L. C. Kemp, both of Houston, Tex., for appellant.
J. D. Wheeler, of San Antonio, Tex., for appellee.
Before HUTCHESON, SIBLEY, and McCORD, Circuit Judges.
In the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of Texas a suit was brought by Roswell F. Vaughan, a citizen of the United States, against Empresas Hondurenas, S. A., a corporation of Honduras, upon a transitory cause of action, the petition alleging that service might be had by serving a named official of the defendant at San Antonio, Texas. Process was issued in the Southern District, and transmitted to the Marshal at San Antonio, which is in the Western District of Texas, who there served personally the named official, and made due return of the service to the court of the Southern District. The defendant, appearing specially, set up that its business was all transacted in Honduras, except that certain officers had made contracts in San Antonio in reference to the development of the Company's real estate in Honduras, and for convenience several directors' and stockholders' meetings had been held in San Antonio, and that an office was maintained in San Antonio, but the principal office was in Honduras; that no business of any sort had ever been transacted in the Southern District, and no permit to do business in Texas had been sought, nor any agent for service of process in Texas been appointed, nor has it ever had any agent or representative of any kind in the Southern District. The conclusion was alleged that as an alien corporation it could be sued in Texas only in the district in which service of process could be made, to wit, the Western District. It was prayed that this suit in the Southern District be dismissed. Evidence was heard which supported these allegations and the suit was dismissed without prejudice.
This appeal raises only a question of venue. The suit was filed and service made before the effective date of the revision of Title 28, U.S.C.A., and its venue provisions are not applicable. Appellant contends that the former Section 112 of Title 28 U.S.C.A.,1 which in general terms required that civil actions in the district court against any person (with irrelevant exceptions) must be brought in the district in which the defendant is an inhabitant, has no application to this corporation which is an inhabitant of Honduras; that there is no statute which fixes any venue for suits against an alien corporation, and that a suit may be maintained in any district court which can obtain service on it. It is...
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