Pennsylvania Lumbermen's Mutual Fire Insurance v. Meyer

Citations

• 197 U.S. 407
• 25 S. Ct. 483
• 49 L. Ed. 810
• 1905 U.S. LEXIS 1188

Syllabus

<p>In order that a Federal court may obtain jurisdiction over a foreign corporation, the corporation must, a’'. ~ng other things, be doing business within the State.</p> <p>To obtain such jurisdiction in New York, personal service of the summons upon, and a delivery to, the defendant must be made in the manner designated by § 432 of the Code of Civil Procedure of that State, and.if the corporation has no property in the State and service cannot be made on the president, treasurer or secretary, and no person has been designated, such service can only be made oh a director or person specified in subdivision' 3 of that section, in case the cause of action arose within the State.</p> <p>A fire insurance company which issues its policies upon 'property in another State, is engaged in its business in that State when its agents are there,' under its authority, adjusting the losses covered by it's policies.</p> <p>Where an insurance company, after loss has occurred on property insured by it in another State, fails to make the payment, or to build or repair, as required by the policy involved in this action, it fails to comply with the terms of the contract, and out of that failure the cause of action arises in the State where the loss occurs.</p> <p>In this case as the company was doing business in New York and the cause of action arose in New York, service under subdivision 3 of § 432 of the Code of Civil Procedure, on a director,of the company residing in New York was sufficient to give the Circuit Court of the United States, in New York, jurisdiction of a Pennsylvania corporation.</p>