Missouri ex rel. Southern Railway Co. v. Mayfield, Circuit Court Judge (340 U.S. 1)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided November 6, 1950 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 340 U.S. 1 · 71 S. Ct. 1
- Decided
- November 6, 1950
- Term
- October Term 1950
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Frankfurter
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Frankfurter delivered the opinion of the Court. These two cases had their origin in suits based on the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, 35 Stat. 65, as amended, 45 U. S. C. § 51 et seq., brought in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. It is superfluous to give concrete details regarding the parties, the circumstances of the injuries, and the considerations affecting the choice of forum. It suffices to state that in both cases the plaintiff was not a resident of Missouri, the carrier was a foreign corporation, and the accident which gave rise to the claim of liability for negligence took place outside Missouri. In both, the doctrine of jorum non conveniens was invoked; in both, the trial court denied the motion to dismiss the suit on that ground as beyond the jurisdiction of the court to grant. In both cases original proceedings in mandamus were thereupon begun in the Supreme Court of Missouri to compel the trial court to exercise discretionary jurisdiction in disposing of the motions. After alternative writs of mandamus had issued and the causes had been consolidated for consideration, the writs were quashed by a single judgment. 359 Mo. 827, 224 S. W. 2d 105. We brought the proceedings here for review, 339 U. S. 918, because they involved questions important to the enforcement of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act by the courts of the States.…
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