Hanna v. Plumer
- Decided
- April 26, 1965
- Docket
- 171
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 2,853 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- holding that the Federal Rules must supersede a conflicting state rule that is implicated by the court's diversity jurisdiction — Stichting Ter Behartiging Van De Belangen Van Oudaandeelhouders In Het Kapitaal Van Saybolt International B.V. v. Philippe S.E. Schreiber (2005)
- holding that in diversity cases, federal courts are to apply state substantive law and federal procedural law — Leibowitz v. Cornell University (2006)
- holding that “Erie and its offspring east no doubt on the long-recognized power of Congress to prescribe housekeeping rules for federal courts” — Henry S. Reinke D/B/A Lakeside Properties v. Robert W. Boden, Richard M. Stark, and John C. Kalenberg (1995)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*461] Mr. Chief Justice Warren delivered the opinion of the Court.
The question to be decided is whether, in a civil action where the jurisdiction of the United States district court is based upon diversity of citizenship between the parties, service of process shall be made in the manner prescribed by state law or that set forth in Rule 4 (d)(1)- of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
On February 6, 1963, petitioner, a citizen of Ohio, filed her complaint in the District Court for the District of Massachusetts, claiming damages in excess of $10,000 for personal injuries resulting from an automobile accident in South Carolina, allegedly caused by the negligence of one Louise Plumer Osgood, a Massachusetts citizen deceased at the time of the filing of the complaint. Respondent, Mrs. Osgood’s executor and also a Massachusetts citizen, was named as defendant. On February 8, service was made by leaving copies of the summons and the complaint with respondent’s wife at his residence, concededly in compliance with Rule 4(d)(1), which provides:
Statutes cited
Cite this
Hanna v. Plumer, 380 U.S. 460 (1965)Read the full opinion
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