United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Equitable Life Assur. Soc'y v. Brown, 187 U.S. 308 (1902)

Equitable Life Assur. Society v. Brown

No. 320

Submitted October 20, 1902

Decided December 1, 1902

187 U.S. 308

Syllabus

The jurisdiction to review judgments or decrees of the courts of the Territory of Hawaii is to be determined not by the law governing as respects territories generally, but by Rev.Stat. § 709, relating to the power to review judgments and decrees of state courts.

Although in cases coming within the purview of Rev.Stat. § 709, a federal question -- not inherently such -- has been explicitly raised below, if such claim be frivolous or has been so absolutely foreclosed by previous rulings of this Court as to leave no room for real controversy, a motion to dismiss will prevail.

A New York life insurance corporation did business in Hawaii and, under statutory regulations, was there subject to suit. It delivered a policy in Hawaii to a person there domiciled, which was among the effects of such person in Hawaii of which possession was taken by an administrator appointed by the Hawaiian courts. Suit was brought in Hawaii upon the policy, and judgment was recovered. Held that the assertion that the policy had its situs, for the purposes of suit, solely at the domicil of the corporation was unfounded, and that the claim was so completely foreclosed by prior rulings as to come within the principle stated in the preceding paragraph.

Page 187 U. S. 309

The case is stated in the opinion.