Bradstreet v. Thomas, 37 U.S. 59 (1838)

37 U.S.
59
12 Pet. 59
9 L.Ed. 999
MARTHA BRADSTREET, PLAINTIFF IN ERROR

v.
ANSON THOMAS.
January Term, 1838
WRIT of error to the district court of the northern district of New York.
Mr. Beardsley moved to dismiss the writ of error, it not being stated in the
writ or declaration, that the defendant was a citizen of the state of New
York. The plaintiff is an alien, and this is stated in due form; but nothing
is said of the citizenship of the defendant.
The constitution of the United States gives jurisdiction to the courts of the
United States, when an alien is a party, who sues a defendant, a citizen of
the state in which the suit may be brought; and it has been expressly
decided, that both parties must be stated, descriptively, in the pleadings.
And where, as in this case, jurisdiction depends on the character of the
parties, the averment of character is not matter of form, but of substance, it
may be traversed; and in that event, must be proved like any other material
fact. Cited, 5 Cranch, 303; 4 Dallas, 12; 3 Dallas, 382; and 1 Cond. Rep.
170, where all the cases are collected in a note.
There is no averment of the value of the property in either count of the
plaintiff's declaration; although it appears from the bill of exceptions, to
have been of the value of two thousand dollars. There is, however, no
doubt of the right of the party to prove the value of the property to be such
as will give the right to a writ of error: this is not now taken as an
objection to the proceeding to bring the case before this Court. The
objection, so far as respects the point of value, is that the court below had
no jurisdiction; there being no averment that the property was worth more
than five hundred dollars. The defendant relies on the absence of the
necessary averment of the citizenship of the defendant, as a sufficient
ground to dismiss the writ of error, the district court of New York not
having had jurisdiction to entertain the cause.
Mr. Meyer and Mr. Jones for the defendant.

The motion to dismiss the writ of error, is founded on the allegation that
there is no averment of the citizenship of the defendant; although, that the
plaintiff is a subject of the king of Great Britain, is stated in the writ.
It is too well established to permit it to be controverted, that an alien
cannot sue in the courts of the United States; unless the fact of alienage is
stated, and the defendant is stated to be a citizen of the state in which the
suit may be instituted. This is under the provision of the constitution of
the United States, and under the judiciary act of 1789. It must appear in
the proceedings in the case, that such is the relative position of the parties.
In this case, there is an averment of the citizenship of the defendant, and
this will be found in the plaintiff's joinder in demurrer; where it is
distinctly and explicitly averred, that the defendant is a citizen of the state
of New York, and a resident in the northern district of that state. The
defendant had demurred, and the plaintiff joined in the demurrer;
accompanying this with an averment of the defendant's citizenship and
residence. The question before the Court is, whether this is sufficient.
No objection to the insufficiency of the averment, or to its location, was
made on the trial of the cause. The parties had been before this Court on a
former occasion, 7 Peters, 634, and after argument, a mandamus was
issued to the judge of the district court, under which the case was restored
to the docket; and after which the trial took place. In none of those
proceedings was an objection made to the absence of the averment of the
citizenship of the defendant, in the early part of the pleadings.
It is not known why the averment of the citizenship may not be postponed
by the consent of the parties to the latter part of the pleadings. The fact of
the alienage of the plaintiff, and of the citizenship of the defendant, was
well known, and therefore the objection was not taken. Had it been taken
in the early stage of the case, an amendment would have been moved, and
would have been admitted.
There is no rigid rule which requires the averment of citizenship to have a
particular locality. No rule which requires a party to exhibit his case in
any particular part of the pleadings. A party may change his case by
averments, if his opponent does not except to them. This shows that there
is no judicial requirement as to where they shall appear, if no dissent is
given by the opposite party. So, too, defects in pleading may be cured by
implications from the pleadings of the opposite party. 1 Chitty on Plead.
710; 1 Chitty, 467-68. These authorities show, that if in the course of the
pleadings facts appear, the court will consider them as facts, upon which
they may judicially act.
For the honour of the common law, it will not be said that it does not aid
the party in exhibiting his case. Why else are new averments allowed?
There is no rule as to the locality of averments; and no rule which requires
the matters to be stated in the early part of the pleadings, on which the
court are permitted to proceed in the cause.
Many cases have been adjudged in the circuit, and in the Supreme Court,
as to the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States, dependent on the
character of the parties; but in no one of them is it settled, where the
averments on the subject shall appear.
In the case of Montalet v. Murray, 4 Cranch, 46; 2 Cond. Rep. 19, while it
is decided, that to give jurisdiction, the character of the parties to the suit
must appear on the record; it is no where said on what part of the record
there shall be this description. If it appears on any part of the record, that
the parties are such as to give the court jurisdiction, this is a full
compliance with the requisitions of the constitution, and the act of
congress. All the exigencies of the law are complied with.
After a trial and verdict, the party is not allowed to except to the
jurisdiction of the court, even in a case in which the court had not
jurisdiction. It is too late; 4 Wash. C. C. R. 483. A case may be submitted
to the court, on a statement of facts, and have all the substance of a case
presented on formal special pleadings. The only object of the pleadings, is
to exhibit the case. This shows the court does not look at forms, if the
substance is preserved. In this case, the Court cannot but see that the
parties are within their jurisdiction.
How is it as to the tenant in the case before the Court? and what will be
his situation if strict rules are applied to him? As a general principle, a
plea to the jurisdiction should be put in before a plea to the merits; and the
question of jurisdiction is supposed to be waived by a neglect to plead it. 4
Mason's C. C. R. 434; 3 John. Rep. 105; 1 Paine, 594. Cited also, 11
Peters, 85, as to the mode and time of pleading to jurisdiction.
This Court has always reluctantly exercised its power to dismiss a case for
want of jurisdiction. The cases are numerous to show this. In every such
case which has been dismissed, there has been a want of an averment; and
no proof of the citizenship of the party. But in this case there is an
averment, and the defendant does not deny its truth. He holds back after
the suit is brought; he subjects the plaintiff to all the expenses of
prosecuting his action; he submits to have the cause brought up to this

Court, and to the action of this Court on the case by a mandamus to the
district judge; to a trial; to a bill of exceptions and verdict; to a writ of
error to this Court: and now, without a denial of the fact averred, that he is
a citizen and resident of the western district of New York, he asks that the
case shall be dismissed. Cases cited in the argument: 8 Wheat. 421; 1
Mason's C. C. R. 360; 1 Paine, 410; 6 Cranch, 267.
Mr. Chief Justice TANEY delivered the opinion of the Court.
A motion has been made by the defendant in error to dismiss this case, upon the
ground that the averments necessary to give jurisdiction to the courts of the
United States do not appear in the record. The decisions which have heretofore
been made on this subject, render it proper that the circumstances under which
this motion comes before the Court should be stated.
A writ of right was brought in the district court for the northern district of New
York, to recover certain lands situated in the state of New York. The
demandant, in her declaration, avers that she is an alien, and a subject of the
king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; but does not aver that
the tenant is a citizen of the state of New York, or of any other state of the
United States. The suit was brought to January term, 1825, at which term the
tenant appeared, and prayed leave to imparle until the next term; 'saving all
objections as well to the jurisdiction of the court as to the writ and count.'
The case was continued from term to term, until August term 1826, when the
tenant put in the usual plea to the first count, and demurred to the second and
third; setting down special causes of demurrer. The demandant joined in the
mise on the plea, and joined in the demurrer; and, in her joinder in demurrer,
she averred that the defendant was a citizen of the state of New York. The want
of this averment of citizenship in the counts was not one of the causes of
demurrer assigned by the tenant. The demurrers were decided against the
demandant at August term, 1827; and further proceedings were had which it is
unnecessary to state here, and the case continued until August term, 1831, when
the defendant moved the court to dismiss the suit for want of jurisdiction:
assigning as the foundation of this motion, the want of an averment of the
pecuniary value of the lands demanded in the counts filed by the demandant.
The court sustained the motion, and dismissed the suit. But at that time no
objection to the jurisdiction was made on account of the omission to aver the
citizenship of the tenant.
In 1832, this dismissal of the suit was brought before the Supreme Court, and a
rule laid on the district court to show cause why the case should not be
reinstated in that court: and at January term, 1833, a peremptory mandamus was
issued by this Court, commanding the district court to reinstate the suit, and 'to
proceed to try and adjudge according to the law and right of the case, the said
writ of right and the mise therein joined.' The mandamus was obeyed and the
cause reinstated, and the mise tried and found against the demandant; and
judgment entered against her at November, 1837. The case is now before us
upon a writ of error on this judgment; and a motion is made to dismiss the case,
upon the ground that neither the district Court nor this court could have
jurisdiction of the suit; because the demandant is an alien, and there is no
averment that the tenant was a citizen of New York.
The above statement of the proceedings makes it evident that the dismissal of
the suit, upon this ground, at this time, would be a surprise upon the
demandant, who has been prosecuting the suit for many years; most probably
under the impression that the averment of citizenship contained in her joinder in
demurrer, was considered by this Court and by the district court, to be a
sufficient compliance with the rules of pleading established by the decisions of
this Court. For the averment in question was received in the district court
without objection; and, indeed, would seem to have been regarded as sufficient
by that court; because when the suit was dismissed there, upon the ground that
the counts did not contain proper averments to give jurisdiction, no notice was
taken of the want of this averment in the counts, nor any objection to the place
where it had been inserted in the pleadings; and when the case was brought
before this Court, on the application for the mandamus, the fault in the
pleadings now charged, was not noticed by the court in the opinion delivered,
and does not appear to have been brought to their attention by the counsel for
the tenant. 7 Peters, 634. The demandant might, therefore, reasonably have
supposed that the Court deemed the averment sufficient; because certainly the
mandamus would not have been issued, commanding the district court to
reinstate the case, and proceed to try it; unless this Court had been of opinion
that a sufficient cause was presented by the pleadings to give jurisdiction to the
district court.
The principle on which this averment has been required is purely technical. But
the rule has been established by the decisions of this Court, and we do not mean
to disturb it; and the proper place for the averment is undoubtedly in the
declaration of the plaintiff in the cause.
The district court was not bound to receive it in the joinder in demurrer; and
clearly ought not to have received it, if it had been objected to by the tenant. But
he has waived the objection, by failing to make it in an earlier stage of the

cause: and after the proceedings which have taken place in the district court,
and in this Court; and when the cause has been so long continued and allowed
to proceed in the same condition of the pleadings and averments, it would be
unjust to the demandant to dismiss it upon this mere technical informality. The
pleadings, in fact, contain all the averments required by the decisions of this
Court, to give jurisdiction to the courts of the United States; and as they appear
to have been acquiesced in by the tenant, and regarded as sufficient in the
district court, and were not objected to in this Court when the case was here on
the application for a mandamus; we do not think the informality can be relied
on now, to dismiss the suit.
9
The motion is therefore overruled.

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Bradstreet v. Thomas, 37 U.S. 59 (1838)

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37 U.S.

MARTHA BRADSTREET, PLAINTIFF IN ERROR

Mr. Meyer and Mr. Jones for the defendant.

prosecuting his action; he submits to have the cause brought up to this

he has waived the objection, by failing to make it in an earlier stage of the

The motion is therefore overruled.

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