United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen v. Pinkston, 293 U.S. 96 (1934)

Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen v. Pinkston

No. 32

Argued October 16, 17, 1934

Decided November 5, 1934

293 U.S. 96

Syllabus

1. In a suit in equity brought by a widow for the purpose of preserving and protecting her right to future participation in a fund from which she is entitled to receive a pension of so much per month during her lifetime as long as she shall remain unmarried, the amount in controversy, determining the federal court's jurisdiction, is the present value of her interest, calculable from the amount of the monthly payment and her life expectancy. P. 293 U. S. 99.

2. The fact that the further payments will cease if the pensioner remarry does not render them contingent or speculative. Thompson v Thompson, 226 U. S. 551. P. 293 U. S. 100.

3. The evidence discloses that the pensioner's "expectancy of remarriage" and its effect upon the value of her interest in the fund were subject to actuarial measurement in this case. P. 293 U. S. 101.

69 F.2d 600 affirmed.

Certiorari, 292 U.S. 621, to review the reversal of a decree dismissing the bill, for lack of jurisdiction, in a suit by a widow on behalf of herself and of other beneficiaries similarly situated, for an accounting and other equitable relief in respect of a fund established by a labor association for the pensioning of widows of their deceased members.

Page 293 U. S. 98