Ben C. Leehans v. American Employers Insurance Company, Inc.

The appellant, who was plaintiff in the district court, sued the liability insurer of the operator of a restaurant charging that he sustained injuries to his hands from an acid alleged to have been present in the soap supplied in a washroom of the restaurant. Pain, suffering, disablement and disfigurement were alleged in the complaint and damages in the amount of $13,045 were sought. Diversity of citizenship was the basis of federal jurisdiction. The defendant, the appellee here, moved to dismiss and asserted, as a ground for the motion, that the injuries were so minor that the claim for…