Hawkins v Masters Farms PDF

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Glover Civ. Pro. Case Brief...

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Hawkins v. Masters Farms United States District Court

Summary: Mr. Masters, a resident of Kansas, was driving a tractor and crashed into Mr. Creal, resulting in the death of Mr. Creal. Ms. Baldwin, heir of Mr. Creal, attempted to file an action in federal court, alleging the existence of diversity jurisdiction because Mr. Creal had connections to the state Missouri at the time of his death. Particularly, he had previously been living with his mother, and he used their address to register the title and license for his vehicle, to apply for auto insurance, to take out a loan, to renew his driver’s license, and he filled out a form for life insurance using the Missouri address. Despite using the Missouri address on various forms, Mr. Creal had been living in Troy, Kansas with his wife for almost one year. Procedural History: Question/Outcome/Rationale: Is Mr. Creal a citizen of the State of Kansas or the State of Missouri at the time of his death? 

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“Mr. Creal was a citizen of the State of Kansas at the time of his death.” o A person is a citizen of the state in which he or she is “domiciled”….For adults, domicile is established by physical presence in a place in connection with a certain state of mind concerning one’s intent to remain there.  Mr. Creal had not only established a physical presence in the State of Kansas, but also displayed an intent to remain there.  He had moved his clothes into their apartment; contributed to household costs; purchased a new bedroom set wit his wife. o “…the court foes not find [the connections with Missouri] sufficient to overcome the evidence that his actions from January 2000 until the time of his death demonstrated an intent to remain with his wife in the State of Kansas…… insufficient to overcome the evidence that he was domiciled in the State of Kansas at the time of his death.” “Because Plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden showing that complete diversity exists among the parties, the court grants Defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.” o Implies that the case can’t be heard in a federal court. If there had been a conflict between citizens of two states, then it could be heard in a federal court (diversity jurisdiction). But both were deemed citizens of the same state.

Kansas

Missouri

Physical Presence  Co-purchased a home in KS  Moved his possessions to KS  Stopped going to mom’s house in MO  Death certificate cites his residence as KS  Bedroom set in KS  Joint bank account in KS  Paid for utilities  Drivers license  MO mailing address  Car insurance  Loan application  Life insurance  Estate was opened using MO address  Visited mother once a week

Intent to Remain  Hadn’t started looking for a home elsewhere (outside KS)  Financial ties to KS  Bed set  Wife likes Troy, KS

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Paychecks go to mom (in MO) He didn’t move his belongings during the engagement Estate didn’t include new family MO house search originates from Creal...