Rosalie Riggins v. Margaret K. Riggins, of the Estate of Leslie E. Riggins, Deceased, Defendant-Respondent

The plaintiff appeals from an order of the district court dismissing the action for want of diversity jurisdiction on the ground that the “matter in controversy” did not exceed $10,000. 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (a).

The facts asserted in the complaint are that the plaintiff is a citizen of West Virginia, and that she obtained a divorce in that state from Leslie E. Riggins (the decedent) on July 12, 1947. The decree of divorce required Riggins to pay alimony to the plaintiff in the sum of $150 per month. No such sums were ever paid, and Riggins died a citizen of Nevada on August 30, 1964, the amount of accrued alimony on that date being $30,750.

Thereafter, the Nevada state court, by appropriate order, allowed the plaintiff to file her claim in probate for $30,750 against the decedent’s estate. The decedent’s executrix and sole beneficiary was his widow, whom he had married sometime after the 1947 divorce. She rejected the claim, and the present action was brought, on February 8, 1967, against the executrix in the amount of the claim.

After the defendant’s answer was filed, which pleaded Nevada’s six-year statute of limitations, the plaintiff moved for summary judgment, and in the…