OHIO, NORTHERN DISTRICT.—All suits not of a local nature in the circuit and district courts against a single defendant, inhabitant of such State, must be brought in the division of the district where he resides; but if there are two or more defendants residing in different divisions of the district, such suits may be brought in either division. All issues of fact in such suits shall be tried at a term of the court held in the division where the suit is so brought. (20 U. S. Stats. 102; 1 Sup. Rev. Stats. 339.) SOUTHERN DISTRICT. -All suits not of a local nature in the circuit and district courts against a single defendant, inhabitant of said State, must be brought in the division of the district where he resides; but if there are two or more defendants residing in different divisions of the district, such suits may be brought in either division. All issues of fact in said suits shall be tried at a term of the court held in the division where the suit is so brought. (21 U. S. Stats. 64; 1 Sup. Rev. Stats. 509.) SOUTH DAKOTA. That all civil suits not of a local nature must be brought in the division of the district where the defendant or defendants reside; but if there are two or more defendants residing in different divisions, the action may be brought in either of the divisions in which a defendant resides. (26 U. S. Stats. 14.) TENNESSEE, EASTERN DISTRICT. All suits not of a local nature in the circuit and district courts against a single defendant, inhabitant of said State, must be brought in the division of the district where he resides; but if there are two or more de DESTY REMOVALS.-13 fendants residing in different divisions of the district, such suits may be brought in either division. All issues of fact in said suits shall be tried at a term of the court held in the division where the suit is so brought. (21 U. S. Stats. 176; 1 Sup. Rev. Stats. 548.) TENNESSEE, WESTERN DISTRICT. - All suits not of a local character which shall be hereafter brought in the district or circuit court of the United States for the western district of Tennessee, against a single defendant, or where all the defendants reside in the same division of said district, shall be brought in the division in which the defendant or defendants reside; but if there are two or more defendants residing in different divisions, such suit may be brought in either division, and duplicate writs may be sent to the other defendants. The clerk issuing such duplicate writs shall indorse thereon that it is a true copy of a writ sued out in the proper division of the district, and the original and duplicate writs, when executed and returned into the office from which they shall have issued, shall be proceeded in as one suit, and all issues of fact in such suits shall be tried in the division where the suit is so brought. (20 U. S. Stats. 235; 1 Sup. Rev. Stats. 385.) § 89. Suits by assignee, when cognizable.-Nor shall any circuit or district court have cognizance of any suit, except upon foreign bills of exchange, to recover the contents of any promissory note or other chose in action in favor of any assignee, or of any subsequent holder, if such instrument be payable to bearer, and be not made by any corporation, unless such suit might have been prosecuted in such court to recover the said contents if no assignment or transfer had been made. (Cl. 5, of Act of March 3, 1875, as amended March 18, 1887, 24 U. S. Stats. 552; corrected Aug. 13, 1888, 25 U. S. Stats. 433.) Note. In the clause "or of any subsequent holder of such instrument be payable to bearer, and be not made by any corporation," in Act March 3, 1887, sec. 1, the word "of," before the words "such instrument," should be held to be "if." (Newgass v. New Orleans, 33 Fed. Rep. 196.) § 89 a. Suits founded on contract.—By the provisions of section 1 as amended it was intended to prohibit all suits by an assignee of a chose in action in a Federal court where the original assignor could not maintain the suit, except suits on foreign bills of exchange, and except notes made payable to bearer and executed by a corporation. A suit founded on a judgment is one founded on a contract, within the meaning of the act, making the right of the assignee to sue to depend upon the right of his assignors to have brought suit in that court, if no assignment had been made.2 Where the assignor of a judgment could not have sued in the original proceedings in this court, his assignees cannot do so under the Act of 1888.3 1 Wilson v. Knox Co., 43 Fed. Rep. 481. 2 Metcalf v. Watertown, 128 U. S. 586. § 89 b. Assignments to confer jurisdiction.— The circuit court has jurisdiction of a controversy between citizens of different States, although property was conveyed to one of the parties to enable the court to entertain the suit; but the transfer must be absolute;2 and not merely colorable,3 nor collusive; and a party having an equitable title may maintain an action at law thereon.5 The circuit court has jurisdiction in a real action for the possession of land brought by an assignee of the note and mortgage. A grantee of title to land may maintain an action, although his grantor could not." 1 McDonald v. Smalley, 1 Peters, 620; Smith v. Kernochen, 7 How. 198; Osborne v. Brooklyn City R. R. Co., 5 Blatchf. 366; Foote v. Hancock, 15 Blatchf. 343; Newby v. Oregon Cent. R. R. Co., 1 Sawy. 63; Briggs v. French, 2 Sum. 251; Hoyt v. Wright, 4 Fed. Rep. 168. 2 De Laveaga v. Williams, 5 Sawy. 573. 3 Maxwell v. Levy, 2 Dall 331; Jones v. League, 18 How. 76; Barney v. Baltimore, 6 Wall. 280. See Richardson v. Mattison, 5 Biss. 31. 4 Marion v. Fllis, 9 Fed. Rep. 367; S. C. 10 Fed. Rep. 410; Williams v. Towne of Nottowa, 3 Morr. Trans. 356; De Laveaga v. Williams, 5 Sawy. 574; Coffin v. Haggin, 11 Fed. Rep. 219. 5 Browne v. Browne, 1 Wash. C. C. 429; Browne v. Arbuncle, 1 Wash. C. C. 484. 6 Whiting v. Wellington, 10 Fed. Rep. 810. 7 Briggs v. French, 2 Sum. 251; Seckel v. Backhaus, 7 Biss. 354. Contra: Maxwell v. Levy, 2 Dall. 381; Hurst v. McNeil, 1 Wash. C. C. 70. 6 The § 89 c. Assignee of choses in action.-Choses in action include all debts and all claims for damages for breach of contract; all contracts, promises, and covenants for the delivery of the chattels or money;2 open accounts or unliquidated accounts, as well as promissory notes;3 and all torts when connected with contracts; but not torts arising from a breach of some duty to which the law attaches damages;5 nor does the term apply to an action by an assignee to recover the possession of the chose in action or damages for its wrongful detention, as an action of replevin to recover a bank-bill; nor does the term "assignee" in the proviso in this section include executors and administrators; but an assignment by operation of law, as to an assignee in insolvency proceedings, is within the proviso; or of a receiver in such proceedings. 10 phrase "promissory notes negotiable by the law merchant" contemplates notes in the hands of a bona fide purchaser for value, subject to no equities in favor of the maker. 11 All cases not specially within the exception in this section are within the general operation of the act;12 for if the assignor could maintain the action at the time the suit was commenced, the assignee may sue. 13 The assignee of an appearance bail may sue, although the mar shal and defendants are citizens of the same State. 14 The holder of a foreign bill of exchange may sue in the circuit court, 15 or of a bank bill;16 or he may sue a stockholder, although the note is payable to be rer. The holder of a note may sue thereon in the Federal courts, although the nominal payee could not,13 or although the payee indorsed 17 28 25 it;19 and so, where maker and payee were citizens of different States; 20 but if both maker and payee are citizens of the same State, an indorsee cannot sue in the Federal courts;21 nor can he sue a remote indo ser if the intermediate indorser could not;22 but if the indorsee and the immediate indorsee are citizens of different States, he may sue in the circuit court, 23 although the intermediate indorser could not. 24 If a note does not, under the laws of the State, possess the qualities of a negotiable instrument, the assignee cannot sue. The assignee of a note and mortgage, if of the requisite citizenship, may file a bill to foreclose in the circuit court;26 but if they are assigned by delivery, he cannot maintain the action if the assignor and mortgagor are citizens of the same State;27 so of the assignee of a bond and mortgage. The assignee of a municipal bond, if negotiable, may sue in the circuit court, 2 or of a negotiable bond, although the obligor and the person to whom it was issued were citizens of the same State. 30 A coupon payable to bearer is negotiable by the law merchant, 31 and the holder may sue in the Federal courts;32 although the party from whom he received it could not maintain the action.33 An equitable assignee of a claim to an account cannot sue if his assignor could not. 31 The assignee of a judgment against a foreign debtor may file a bill in the circuit court to set aside a fraudulent conveyance made by the debtor;35 and so can the assignee of a judgment against an indorser of a bill of exchange. 36 If the assignee obtains judgment on a note he may sue to enforce a lien on certain property of the judgment debtor. 37 An assignee may prosecute an action founded on a tort, without regard to the citizenship of the assignor;38 so of the assignee of a right of action for damages for failure to protect a note from protest.39 Where a party claims through an assignment, he must affirmatively show that the action might have been sustained by the assignor. 0 Since the Act of 1875 the assignee of a chose in action may sue in the Federal court. 41 1 Bushnell v. Kennedy, 9 Wall. 387. 2 Sheldon v. Sill, 8 How. 441. 3 Sere v. Pitot, 6 Cranch 332; Wilkinson v. Wilkinson, 2 Curt. 582. 4 Bushnell v. Kennedy, 9 Wall. 387. |