Tractortechnic Gebrueder Kulenkempft & Co. v. Bousman

DECISION

MYRON L. GORDON, District Judge.

The plaintiff, Tractortechnic, seeks to recover damages for an alleged conversion of certain tractor parts by the defendant, John Bousman, d/b/a Speed Cat Tractor Sales. Jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). The case was tried to the court without a jury.

A jurisdictional point was raised by the defendant at the close of the plaintiff’s case. The defendant asserted that its answer had put in issue the plaintiff’s corporate existence and capacity to sue, and that the plaintiff’s failure to offer proof on this point means…