Railway Co. v. Whitton's Administrator

Wisconsin's wrongful-death statute created a cause of action for an estate administrator when the death occurred within the state, but also required the action be brought in a Wisconsin state court; Whitton's Administrator (plaintiff) sued Railway Co. (defendant) in Wisconsin state court over his wife's death, but after Congress passed a new diversity-removal statute while the suit was pending, he removed the case to federal circuit court and won a $5,000 judgment, prompting a challenge to that court's jurisdiction.