Strawbridge v. Curtiss

7 U.S. 267 · Supreme Court of the United States · 1806

Facts

The opinion discusses a case where federal court jurisdiction was challenged based on the diversity statute. The specific parties or underlying dispute are not detailed, but the court considered the interpretation of the jurisdictional requirements.

Issue

The legal question is how to interpret the federal diversity jurisdiction statute when multiple parties represent a joint interest, specifically regarding the competency of each party to sue or be sued in federal courts.

Holding

The court held that jurisdiction could not be supported in the present case, affirming the decree, because not all parties representing a joint interest met the competency requirements for federal court.

Rule

For federal diversity jurisdiction, when an interest is joint, each person representing that interest must be competent to sue or be sued in federal courts. The court explicitly reserved judgment on cases with several distinct interests.

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