Kilgore v. Norman

Citations

• 119 F. 1006
• 1902 U.S. App. LEXIS 5361

Syllabus

<p>1. Equity Jurisdiction—Remedy at Law—Suit to Recover Lands.</p> <p>A federal court of equity has jurisdiction of a suit to recover lands, although complainants claim the legal title, where defendants also show a legal title, good upon its face, through deeds executed by an attorney in fact for complainants, but which the latter allege to have been executed in fraud of their rights, as the result of a conspiracy between such attorney and defendants, and the cancellation of such deeds is a part of the relief sought.</p> <p>% Equity—Multifariousness of Bill.</p> <p>A bill by the heirs of a husband and wife to recover lands is not multifarious because the title to some of the lands was vested in the husband, to some in the wife, and to some in both, nor because defendants claim through various sources of title.</p> <p>8.-Jurisdiction of Federal Courts—Burden of Proof—Evidence to Overcome Jurisdictional Averments.</p> <p>Where a bill in a federal court contains the necessary averments to give the court jurisdiction on the ground of diversity of citizenship, and no plea to the jurisdiction is interposed, but the question is raised for the first time on a hearing, the burden of proof rests upon the defendants to disprove such averments; and affidavits of unknown witnesses, who have not been subjected to cross-examination, obtained by a person shown to have resorted to questionable methods, will not be accepted as sufficient against positive testimony in contradiction.</p> <p>4. Injunction Pendente Lite—Restraining Trespass by Cutting Timber.</p> <p>Where the issues in a suit in equity to recover timber lands are such that they can be properly determined only after a full hearing, but complainant shows an apparently strong case, and it appears that defendants have erected sawmills on the lands, an injunction restraining further trespass by the cutting of timber pending final hearing will not be dissolved unless a sufficient bond is given by defendants to protect complain