Erie Railroad v. Tompkins
- Decided
- April 25, 1938
- Docket
- 367
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 18,491 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- holding that in a diversity action, a federal court must apply the law of the forum state — Southwest Livestock and Trucking Company, Inc. Darrel Hargrove Mary Jane Hargrove v. Reginaldo Ramn (1999)
- holding that, under the Constitution, federal courts must apply state law — including state common law — in diversity eases — Aguayo v. AMCO Insurance (2014)
- holding that substantive law of the state must be applied, except in cases governed by the Federal Constitution or by Acts of Congress — Torres v. KMart Corp. (2002)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*69] •Mr. Justice Brandéis delivered the opinion of the Court.
The question for decision is whether the oft-challenged doctrine of Swift v. Tyson[1] shall now be disapproved.
Tompkins, a citizen of Pennsylvania, was injured on a dark night by a passing freight train of the Erie Railroad Company while walking along its right of way at Hughestown in that State. He claimed that the,accident occurred through negligence in the operation, or maintenance, of the train; that h.e was rightfully on the premises as licensee because on a commonly used beaten: footpath which rah for a short distance alongside the tracks; and that he was struck by something which looked like a door projecting from one of the moving cars. To enforce that claim he brought an action in the federal court for southern New York, which had jurisdiction because the company is a corporation of that State. It denied liability; and the case was tried by a jury.
Statutes cited
- 28 U.S.C. § 725
Cite this
Erie Railroad v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938)Read the full opinion
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