Central Railroad Co. of New Jersey v. Mills, 113 U.S. 249 (1885), is a legal case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. The litigation primarily addressed questions of federal jurisdiction and the removal of cases from state courts to federal courts under the Judiciary Act of 1875.
The case originated from a bill in equity filed in the Court of Chancery of New Jersey by John J. Mills and Elizabeth P. Mills. The plaintiffs, who were stockholders in the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey and citizens of the state of New Jersey, sought to set aside a lease of the company's railroad and property to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, a Pennsylvania corporation.
The defendants, including the railroad companies, attempted to remove the case to the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of New Jersey. They contended that the suit involved a controversy between citizens of different states or presented a federal question regarding the impairment of the obligation of contracts.
The Supreme Court, in an opinion delivered by Justice Gray, held that the suit was not removable to federal court. The Court determined that the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey was an indispensable party to the litigation. Because the company and the plaintiffs were both citizens of New Jersey, the Court found a lack of diversity of citizenship. Furthermore, the Court concluded that the bill did not present a case arising under the Constitution or laws of the United States sufficient to justify federal jurisdiction at that stage of the proceedings. The decree of the Circuit Court was reversed with instructions to remand the case to the state court.
