This is a writ of error brought under section 5 of the act of March 3, 1875, c. 137, (18 St. 470,) for the review of an order of the circuit court remanding a cause which had been removed from a state court. The suit was brought by Tvedt Bros., citizens of Minnesota, against Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co., citizens of Illinois, and Owen J. Wood and Theodore S. Stiles, citizens of Minnesota, to recover damages for a malicious prosecution, it being averred in the complaint that 'the said defendants, confederating together, and with a malicious and unlawful design and intent had and entertained by them, and each of them, to injure, oppress, and harass these plaintiffs, and to break them up in business, wrongfully, maliciously, unlawfully, and without any reason, or provocation, or probable cause, caused a certain action to be commenced against these plaintiffs, in which said Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. were plaintiffs, for the pretended recovery of money, * * * and then and there wrongfully, unlawfully, and maliciously, and with the aforesaid intent so had and entertained by each and all of said defendants, wickedly and maliciously conspired together, and without probable cause, caused to be issued * * * a writ of attachment upon the stock of goods, wares, and merchandise of these plaintiffs; * * * that, under said writ of attachment, and by direct instruction of the defendants, the sheriff of said county levied the same upon the stock of goods, and closed up the store, and stopped and broke up the business of these plaintiffs.' The defendants Wood & Stiles answered separately from their co-defendants, denying all malice and conspiracy, and saying that they, as attorneys at law, and acting for and under the instructions of Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co., brought the action and sued out the attachment in good faith, and not otherwise. The other defendants also filed a separate answer, admitting that they caused the action to be brought and the attachment to be issued, and that the attachment had been vacated, though the action itself was still pending and undisposed of.
Upon these pleadings Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. filed a petition under the second clause of section 2 of the act of 1875, for the removal of the cause to the circuit court of the United States, on the ground that as the action was in tort, and therefore in its nature severable, there was in it 'a controversy which is wholly between citizens of different states, to-wit, between the plaintiffs and Pirie, Scott & M'Leish, * * * and that said controversy can be fully determined as between them.'
After the case got into the circuit court on this petition, it was remanded because there was but one controversy in the suit, and that between the plaintiffs, citizens of Minnesota, on one side, and all the defendants, citizens of Minnesota and Illinois, on the other. This ruling is the only error assigned.