Arcelay v. American Railroad
Arcelay v. American Railroad
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The plaintiff brought a personal action for damages against the American Railroad Co. of Porto Rico based on an accident which occurred in the judicial district of Mayá-güez between an auto truck of the plaintiff and a railróád train of the defendant.
The complaint was filed in the District Court of Humaeao and after the defendant had been notified of it by a summons served personally in the district of San Juan on its manager the company moved the District Court of Humaeao that the action be transferred to the District Court of San Juari, alleging and showing that the defendant is a corporation created according to the laws of the State of New York arid
The District Court of Humacao denied the change of venue and this appeal was tafeen from that order by the defendant. The appellee has made no appearance in this court and the appeal is submitted on the brief and argument of the appellant.
Under the law in force when the complaint was filed in the present case actions for damages of this nature must be tried in the district in which the defendants, or some of them, reside, according to section 81 of the Code of Civil Procedure; or if none of the defendants reside in Porto Bico, the suit may be tried in any district designated by the plaintiff in his complaint.
In accordance with that statute domestic corporations should be sued in the district of their residence as they are domiciled here, but as to foreign corporations doing business in this Island, it has been held that they may be sued in any district of the Island because they are not domiciled in this
Recently the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Power Co. v. Saunders, 274 U. S. 490, decided on May 31, 1927, held that a statute which provides that domestic corporations may be sued in the districts of their residences and does not apply the same provision to foreign corporations doing business in that State, which may be sued in any district and not in the one of their place of business, is contrary to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Our Organic Act of March 2, 1917, provides also in paragraph 1 of section 2 that no law shall be enacted in this Island which shall deny to any person therein the equal protection of the laws.
In view of that decision of the highest court of the United States we reach the conclusion that the appellant has the right to be heard in the district of San Juan; therefore the ruling appealed from is set aside and substituted by an order granting the transfer of this action to the said district.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.