FEDERAL PROCEDURE-VENUE-WAIVER OF TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 1391(a), UNDER NONRESIDENT MOTORIST STATUTES

A Connecticut resident brought a suit based on diversity of citizenship in a United States district court in Massachusetts against an Ohio corporation, alleging a cause of action arising from an automobile collision upon a Massachusetts highway. Plaintiff secured personal jurisdiction over the defendant by serving process upon the Registrar of Motor Vehicles for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and by giving notice to defendant in accordance with the Massachusetts nonresident motorist statute. Upon defendant\u27s motion, the action was dismissed for improper venue. Held, defendant is not a Massachusetts resident for purposes of federal venue as defined by Title 28, United States Code, section 139l(c). The operation of defendant\u27s motor vehicle on Massachusetts highways did not amount to a voluntary consent to be sued or a waiver of the federal venue privilege. Dismissal affirmed. Martin v. Fischbach Trucking Co., (1st Cir. 1950) 183 F (2d) 53