Upton-Lang Co. v. Metropolitan Casualty Ins. Co. of New York

This is an appeal from an order of the District Court vacating a judgment entered in favor of the plaintiff for want of'an affidavit of defense and giving the defendant an opportunity to defend.

Complaint in this case was filed by the Upton-Lang Company against the Metropolitan Insurance Company of New York, hereinafter called tho insurance company, in the common pleas court of Erie county at Erie, Pa., on October 3, 1930. On December 2, 1930, a petition for removal of tho cause into the United States District Court was filed, and on December 29, 1930, within the time allowed by law, a certified copy of the record from the common pleas court was filed in the United States District Court, and the case was docketed at Pittsburgh, *134 Pa. An affidavit of defense was not filed within thirty days thereafter as the law required. On January 22, 1931, the plaintiff •wrote the attorneys of the defendant requesting that an affidavit be filed. On the following day, defendant’s attorneys replied as follows: “We beg to advise you that we will file an affidavit of defense in this matter sometime during the week commencing January 26th and as early during that week as we possibly…