17 F. Cas. 290 | U.S. Circuit Court for the District of New Jersey | 1852
The bill avers that Milledollar, the mortgagee, is a citizen of New York. He could, therefore, have brought his suit in this court for the contents of the bond and mortgage, “if no assignment had been made.” And to sustain the jurisdiction of the court in his case, it would have been necessary only to aver that the mortgagors were citizens of New Jersey at the time suit was brought The complainant's ease is therefore within the strict letter of the law — nor can we discover anything in the spirit, equity or policy of the act, or in adjudged cases, which would compel us to give it a construction such as the defendant asks. The statute does not take from the assignee of a chose in action his right to sue in the courts of the United States, unless his immediate assignor could have sustained such action; but only in case the court could have had no jurisdiction as between the original parties to the instrument, if no assignment had been made. The situation or rights of temporary intermediate assignees, holders, or indorsers enter not into the conditions of the case.
The only case which has been brought to our knowledge, in which this point is directly decided, is that of Wilson v. Fisher [supra], which fully supports our view of this point. Mollan v. Torrance 9 Wheat. [22 U. S.] 537, in the supreme court of the United States, which has been quoted as upholding a con
We are of opinion, therefore, that, as this bill shows that the complainant is a citizen of New York and the defendants citizens of New Jersey, at the time the bill was filed, and that the original contractor or mortgagee is a citizen of the same state, and could therefore have sued these defendants at the time this bill was filed, in the circuit court of New Jersey, “if no assignment had been made,” this court has jurisdiction of the case, and the citizenship of the intermediate holders, owners or assignees, is immaterial, and need not be averred. Demurrer overruled with costs.