In Bell v. Hood, 71 F. Supp. 813 (S.D.Cal.1947) the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which had sustained a dismissal for lack of jurisdiction. The Supreme Court held that the district court did have jurisdiction to determine whether the complaint stated a violation of a federally protected right. Subsequently the District Court determined that although the plaintiffs may have had common law rights they had none which were federally protected.