156 F. Supp. 723 | D. Mass. | 1957
At the pretrial hearing of this ■case a question arose as to the jurisdiction of the court. The plaintiff is a local citizen. One defendant, the alleged owner of the car involved in the accident, is ■a citizen of Pennsylvania. There is a ■question of the citizenship of the other defendant, the alleged operator, he contending that it is Massachusetts. On this posture, the situation is this. While Mass.G.L. (Ter.Ed. 1932), Ch. 231, § ■'85A, establishes a prima facie case of responsibility
The question of the citizenship of the driver, being a jurisdictional matter, I hold is to be resolved by the court, rather than by a jury. See Moore, Federal Practice, § 38.36. I will hear the evidence and determine it in advance of trial, Tudor v. Leslie, D.C.D.Mass., 35 F.Supp. 969, unless the plaintiff elects to dismiss as against this defendant.
. Not “agency,” Wilson v. Hazard, D.C.D.Mass., 145 F.Supp. 23.