201 Mass. 557 | Mass. | 1909
The single question raised relates to the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court of the City of Boston. The case comes before us on exceptions to an order overruling the defendant’s plea in abatement, as well as by appeal from an order denying a motion to dismiss. This is proper practice under St. 1906, c. 342, which abrogates the rule expounded in Fenton v. Kane, 186 Mass. 136, and cases there cited.
This is an action at law brought in said court by copartners, having a usual place of business at Boston in the county of Suffolk," against a foreign corporation, having property and a usual place of business in the county of Middlesex. An attachment of property of the defendant was made in Middlesex
The plaintiff contends that its action is well brought under R. L. c. 167, § 7, cl. 3, which enacts, with exceptions not here material, that if one party is a natural person and the other a corporation other than a city, town or parish, it may sue or be sued' in any county in which the corporation has an established or usual place of business or in which the natural person lives or has a usual place of business. This section, however, only fixes the county of venue; it does not settle the jurisdiction of the respective courts within the county, which is established by other sections of the Revised Laws (see c. 160, §§ 18-20, 59; c. 161, §§ 11,12; c. 167, § 2; c. 181, § 2; c. 189, §§ 2, 4; c. 197, §10; c. 200, §§ 3-5; c. 193, § 22; c. 191, § 2; c. 198, §§ 17, 23). It applies to courts of general jurisdiction. Its purpose is not to enlarge the powers of courts of limited jurisdiction. If the construction of this section sought for by the plaintiff is tenable, then the jurisdiction of all police, district and municipal courts for natural persons residing or having places of business within their territorial limits as to all corporations would be bounded only by the confines of the Commonwealth. This would be a far more extensive jurisdiction than is possessed where both parties are natural persons, as appears from an examination of the statutes last cited.
A superficial reading of R. L. c. 167, § 22, which determines the field of action of original writs issuing out of police, district or municipal courts, might seem at first sight to support the view for which the plaintiff argues. But a reference to its history and the report of the commissioners for the consolidating of the statutes demonstrates its unsoundness. It is clear that Pub. Sts. c. 154, §§ 16, 47, c. 183, § 5, and c. 175, §§ 2, 4, authorized writs issuing from any of the few local courts therein named to run into another county for service on a defendant only when one of several defendants lived within the district of
Original writs from police, district and municipal courts therefore run, throughout the county only, for service upon a defendant, and into other counties for attachment of property alone, except that they may also run into other counties for service on a defendant or defendants, where they live, in an action against several defendants, one of whom lives in the county within which the court is located, or in an action of summary process where the land in question is within the county of the court, or in a trustee process where those named as trustee or trustees dwell or have a usual place of business within the county of the court, except that jurisdiction is conferred upon the Municipal Court of the City of Boston in trustee process if one or more of several trustees live or have their usual place of business in the county of Suffolk. R. L. c. 189, §§ 2, 4; c. 181, § 2; c. 160, § 59; c. 167, § 22.
But for another reason R. L. c. 167, § 7, does not govern an action like the present. That section refers only to domestic corporations, and has no relation to foreign corporations. This becomes apparent when the history of the section is examined. It was enacted in substance the same as it now appears in 1836 by Rev. Sts. c. 90, § 16, which was long before any statute existed authorizing suits against foreign corporations. Its purpose as explained in Raymond v. Lowell, 6 Cush. 524, 529, was to fix
The plaintiff further contends that the action is properly brought under that part of R. L. c. 167, § 2, which provides that municipal courts “ shall have jurisdiction of a transitory action against a defendant who is not an inhabitant of this Commonwealth if personal service or an effectual attachment of property is made within the Commonwealth; and such action may he brought in any of said courts in the county in which the service or attachment was made ” on the ground that the service was made in Suffolk County on the commissioner of corporations as the attorney of the defendant, and that hence the action is brought in one of the courts within the county in which the service is made.
The courts of this Commonwealth apart from statute have no jurisdiction over a foreign corporation unless it voluntarily appears, except so far as its property may be attached, and then only to the extent of the property attached. Andrews v. Michigan Central Railroad, 99 Mass. 534. Desper v. Continental Water Meter Co. 137 Mass. 252. Eliot v. McCormick, 144 Mass. 10. This defect of jurisdiction as to foreign life insurance companies was early remedied by St. 1852, c. 311, § 2, and then as to all foreign insurance companies by St. 1854, c. 453, §§ 32, 33, and St. 1856, c. 252, § 46 (Gen. Sts. c. 58, §§' 68, 69), and as to foreign express companies by St. 1871, c. 371, and as to foreign mining, quarrying and oil companies by St. 1882, c. 106, § 1, and finally as to all foreign business corporations by St. 1884, c. 330, § 1; Successive statutes required insurance corporations, whether fire, life, accident or fraternal beneficiary, to appoint the insurance commissioner such attorney, and other corporations to appoint the commissioner of corporations. An
These statutes reveal an intent to subject all foreign corporations, which avail themselves of the opportunities of our markets, manufacturing facilities or the other business openings, fully to the jurisdiction of our courts. Venue is different from jurisdiction. It is one step to subject alien corporations to the power of our courts, but it is another step to provide to what particular tribunal they may be summoned in a given cause of action against them. R. L. c. 167, § 2, prescribes the venue of actions brought in police, district and municipal courts. In the final sentence of this section the words “ a defendant who is not an inhabitant of this Commonwealth ” are broad enough, taken in their natural sense, to include foreign corporations as well as other aliens. There is nothing about these words which indicates that they were intended to be construed in any other than their ordinary and usual significance. The words “ personal service ” could have no meaning as applied to a foreign corporation before the enactment of St. 1907, c. 332, except by including a service upon the commissioner of corporations, because a service upon the treasurer of such a corporation at its usual place of business here was no service at all. Desper v. Continental Water Meter Co. 137 Mass. 252. The result of such an interpretation would be that no jurisdiction could be had of such a defendant in any police, district or municipal court unless there was an attachment of its property. In many instances this circumstancé alone might compel a plaintiff to go to the Superior Court upon a small claim. But if the debt or damage demanded was less than $100 in amount, then the Superior Court would be barred of jurisdiction, and the plaintiff could secure no relief. R. L. c. 157, § 4; c. 160, § 18. It cannot be presumed that the Legislature, when undertaking to confer jurisdiction upon our courts over foreign corporations, could have intended in many conceivable instances to deprive the holder of small claims of all opportunity to bring an action. Such a construction should not be placed upon its language unless no other reasonable result can be reached. The words “ personal service ”
The broad considerations here set forth lead to the conclusion that the Legislature intended personal service to have this meaning, and, as the language lends itself to that view, we so interpret it.
Exceptions overruled.
Order appealed from affirmed.