by John Marshall Harlan

“ Is it true that a circuit court of the United States, in the exercise of its equity powers, and where diverse citizenship gives jurisdiction over the parties, may not, in any case, deprive a party of the benefit of a judgment fraudulently obtained by him in a state court, the circumstances being such as would authorize relief by the federal court, if the judgment had been rendered by it and not by a state court? ”

“ Is the right of removal affected by the fact that no one of the judgments against the plaintiff in error exceeded the amount $500, exclusive of costs-limited by the act of 1875 for the jurisdiction, whether original or upon removal, of a circuit court of the United States, in suits between citizens of different states? We think not. The judgments aggregate more than $3,000. They are all held by Mayer, and are all against Mrs. Marshall. Their validity depends upon the same facts. If she is entitled to relief against one of the judgments, she is entitled to relief against all of them. ”

“ The cases in which they were rendered were, in effect, tried as one case, so far as she and Mayer were concerned; for the parties stipulated that the result in each one not tried should depend upon the result in the one tried. ”