Erie R. v. White

Citations

• 187 F. 556
• 109 C.C.A. 322
• 1911 U.S. App. LEXIS 4196

Syllabus

<p>1. Courts (§ 363*) — Master and Servant (§§ 204, 228*) — Action for Injury to Employé — Ohio Statute — Assumption of Risk — Contributory Negligence.</p> <p>Act Ohio Feb. 28, 1908 (99 Ohio Laws, p. 25), relating to the liability of railroad companies for injuries to employés, and providing that such companies shall be liable for damages resulting from the injury or death of an employé, when such injury or death was caused by a defect in any rail or track required by such company to be used .by its employés, that any such employé shall not be deemed to have assumed the risk occasioned by such defect, and that contributory negligence shall not bar recovery when the negligence was slight and that of the employer was greater in comparison, but the damages shall be diminished by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to such employé, may be applied in the federal courts in Ohio, and in cases to which it applies abolishes entirely the defense of assumption of risk and ^also of contributory negligence as an absolute defense in bar, substituting therefor the rule of comparative negligence.</p> <p>IEd. Note. — For other cases, see Courts, Cent. Dig. § 939; Dec. Dig. § 363 ;* Master and Servant, Cent. Dig. §§ 544, 670, 671; Dec. Dig. §§ 204, 228.*</p> <p>Assumption of risk incident tc employment, see note to Chesapeake & O. R. Co. v. Hennessey, 38 O. C. A. 314.]</p> <p>2. Master and Servant (§§ 228, 263*) — Action fob Injury to' Employé— Contributory Negligence — Ohio Statute.</p> <p>Such statute does not create an exception to the general rule in relation to contributory negligence, but prescribes a new rule, under which the question whether such negligence bars a recovery depends on the character and extent of the contributory negligence; and where such negligence is pleaded as a defense, a special replication alleging its slight character is not necessary to authorize the court to apply the statute.</p> <p>[Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Master