Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · ¶29

Defendant maintained, citing Falchetti v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 307 Pa. 203; 160 A. 859, and Koontz v. B. & O. R. Co., 309 Pa. 122; 163 A. 212, that the only duty owed plaintiff was to refrain from willfully or wantonly injuring him; it argued that the courts of Pennsylvania had so ruled with respect to persons using a customary longitudinal path, as distinguished from one crossing the track. The plaintiff, insisted that the Pennsylvania decisions did not establish the rule for which the defendant contended.. Upon that issue the circuit court of appeals said (p. 604): “We need hot go into this' matter since the defendant concedes that the great weight of authority in other states is' to the contrary.- This concession is fatal to its contention, for upon questions of general law the federal courts are. free, in absence of a local statute, to exercise their independent judgment as to what…

U. S. Reports, bound volume
U. S. Reports, volume 304, at 64 (Library of Congress) · transcription: Caselaw Access Project
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