Mas v. Perry

489 F.2d 1396 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1974

Facts

Jean Paul Mas (French citizen) and Judy Mas (Mississippi citizen) sued their Louisiana landlord, Oliver Perry, after discovering two-way mirrors in their apartment. A jury awarded them damages, but Perry appealed, challenging federal diversity jurisdiction based on Mrs. Mas's citizenship and Mr. Mas's jurisdictional amount. The Mas couple were graduate assistants at LSU in Louisiana, and Mrs. Mas had been a Mississippi domiciliary prior to her marriage.

Procedural history

A jury verdict awarded $5,000 to Mr. Mas and $15,000 to Mrs. Mas. The appellant made an oral motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction at trial, which the district court denied. The appellant then challenged the final judgment before this Circuit Court solely on jurisdictional grounds.

Issue

Did the district court properly exercise diversity jurisdiction over Mrs. Mas's claim, given her marriage to an alien and temporary residence in Louisiana? Was the jurisdictional amount met for Mr. Mas, despite his recovery being below the statutory threshold?

Holding

Yes, the district court properly exercised diversity jurisdiction over both claims. Mrs. Mas remained a citizen of Mississippi, and Mr. Mas's claim met the jurisdictional amount requirement based on his good faith pleading. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's judgment.

Rule

For diversity purposes, a person's domicile requires both residence and the intention to remain there indefinitely. A woman's domicile and state citizenship do not change solely by reason of her marriage to an alien. The amount in controversy for diversity jurisdiction is determined by the plaintiff's good faith claim, and jurisdiction is not lost if the final judgment is less than the jurisdictional amount.

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Case brief last reviewed 2026-03-03. Prepared by CaseReader from the published opinion.