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Supreme Court· 3/6/1917

McDonald v. Mabee

Citations

  • 243 U.S. 90
  • 37 S. Ct. 343
  • 61 L. Ed. 608
  • 1917 U.S. LEXIS 2096

Syllabus

<p>A person domiciled in Texas left the State intending to make his home elsewhere, his family residing there meanwhile. During his absence an action for money was begun against him in a Texas court. After returning and remaining for a short time, he departed finally and established a domicile in another State. The only service in the action was by publication in a newspaper after his final departure. Based on this service, a personal judgment for money was rendered against him which was sustained under the laws of Texas by the Supreme Court of the State. Held, that the judgment was absolutely void under the Fourteenth Amendment.</p> <p>Qucere: Whether the judgment would have been good if a summons had been left at his last and usual place of abode in Texas while the -family was in that State and before the new domicile was acquired? An ordinary personal judgment for money, invalid for want of service amounting to due process of law, is as ineffective in the State of its rendition as it is elsewhere.</p> <p>Since judgments are of reciprocal obligation, a judgment void if sued on by the plaintiff is void also when interposed by the defendant as a bar to the original cause of action.</p>

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

  • finding that a civil judgment issued by a court that lacked personal jurisdiction over the defendant was void
  • noting that, in “exten[ding] . . . the means of acquiring [personal] jurisdiction,” “great caution should be used not to let fiction deny the fair play that can be secured only by a pretty close adhesion to fact”
  • reversing a judgment of the Supreme court of appeals denied. 311 S.W.3d 1. We granted AG's Court of Texas
  • “[G]reat caution should be used not to let fiction deny the fair play that can be secured only by a pretty close adhesion to fact.” (Holmes, J.) (citation omitted)
  • “To dispense with personal service the substitute that is most likely to reach the defendant is the least that ought to be required if substantial justice is to be done.”
  • reversing a judgment of the Supreme Court of Texas

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Holmes

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Cited by

224 cases in this archive cite this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

Cites

3 cases in this archive are cited by this case.

Other cases named McDonald v. Mabee

1 other CourtListener record shares this case name.

Sourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.