''Oswald v. New York'', 2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 401 (1792), was a

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case in which an individual sued a state. No appearance was entered for the

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...

state and default judgment was rendered against the state. This remains the only case decided by the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in which a citizen of a different state brought suit against a state where the state paid damages and court costs after a jury trial.Shortell, Christopher. Rights, Remedies, and the Impact of the Sovereign State. Albany, NY: University of New York Press, 2008. p. 35.

Background

The origins of the case begin with John Holt, editor and writer whose printing presses were seized by the British for violating the Stamp Act. Following the seizure of his servants and presses, Holt received the assistance of George Clinton and Philip Schuyler and opened the New-York Journal. In 1777 Holt was then hired by the State of New York through the Committee of Safety chaired by

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...

. The Committee authorized the payment of £200 for one year. Despite no other resolution being passed, Holt continued to serve as the state printer for laws and resolutions until his death in 1784. In this case the primary question was of payment for work performed. As late as 1783, Holt complained to the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Senate about not being paid his annual salary. While no annual salary had been authorized and some work had been paid for by the State of New York, Holt argued that he was due funds that were not paid and he was forced to cease publication of his newspaper. Upon Holt’s death, his widow Elizabeth Holt filed a claim with the New York State Auditor in the amount of £5,293 for salary and expenses as state printer. Upon review of the claim, the auditor paid £2,000 for expenses but denied the claim for salary noting that the work performed after the first year was performed in lieu of salary. Mrs. Holt pressed her claim to the legislature which also denied the claim. Following this, she sold the newspaper and moved to Philadelphia with her daughter and son-in-law Eleazer Oswald. When Elizabeth Holt died in 1788, her son-in-law, Eleazer Oswald then renewed the claim against the State of New York. Again presenting the case to Assembly, no relief was provided despite an attempt by the legislature to review the issue. With no relief from the legislature, Oswald filed suit in the

in February 1791 seeking $31,458.35 in salary and damages.

Proceedings

Following the filing of the case, summons were dispatched to Governor George Clinton and New York Attorney General

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...

. Governor Clinton referred the summons to the New York Assembly which failed to act or respond. A second summons was issued by the court in February 1792. In February 1793, when New York again failed to respond, Oswald's attorney requested a default be entered at the August session if the state again failed to appear.Shortell, Christopher. Rights, Remedies, and the Impact of the Sovereign State. Albany, NY: University of New York Press, 2008. p. 36. During the Fall Term of the court, attorney Jared Ingersoll appeared on behalf of the State of New York and filed a protest that the Court did not have jurisdiction over the case. Before the motion was heard by the court, Oswald's attorney requested a postponement of the case. Before the resumption of the case at the next session, politics intervened. The New York General Assembly came under control of the

Federalists The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

who were in an ongoing battle with Governor Clinton and the

Anti-Federalists Anti-Federalism was a late-18th century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles of Con ...

Opinion of the Court

Dallas records the case as follows:

Oswald, Administrator v. the State of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
February Term, 1792 Summons. In this case the Marshall had returned the writ served; and now Sergeant moved for a
distringas Distraint or distress is "the seizure of someone’s property in order to obtain payment of rent or other money owed", especially in common law countries. Distraint is the act or process "whereby a person (the ''distrainor''), traditionally even ...
, to compel an appearance on the part of the State. While, however, the court held the
motion In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and mea ...
under advisement, it was voluntarily withdrawn, and the suit discontinued..

References

External links

* {{caselaw source , case = ''Oswald v. New York'', {{ussc, 2, 401, 1792, Dall., 2, el=no , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/2/401/ , loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep002/usrep002401/usrep002401.pdf , openjurist =https://openjurist.org/2/us/401 1792 in United States case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Jay Court