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Conflict of Laws Keyed to Hay, 16th Ed.
Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins
Citation:
304 U.S. 64, 58 S. Ct. 817, 82 L. Ed. 1188 (1938)Facts
Harry Tompkins, a Pennsylvania citizen, was walking along a commonly used footpath adjacent to the Erie Railroad tracks in Hughestown, Pennsylvania, on a dark night when he was struck by what appeared to be a door projecting from a passing freight train car. Tompkins claimed he was rightfully on the premises as a licensee using a beaten pathway and that the railroad was negligent in operating or maintaining the train. He brought suit in federal court for the Southern District of New York based on diversity jurisdiction, as Erie Railroad was a New York corporation. The railroad contended that under Pennsylvania law, Tompkins was a trespasser to whom it owed no duty except to refrain from willful or wanton injury. Tompkins argued that in the absence of a Pennsylvania statute, federal courts should determine the railroad’s duty as a matter of general law.
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