Kibbe v. Stevenson Iron Min. Co.

Citations

• 136 F. 147
• 69 C.C.A. 145
• 1905 U.S. App. LEXIS 4433

Syllabus

<p>1. Construction on State Statutes and Constitutions — Federal Courts Follow State Court.</p> <p>The national courts follow the construction of the Constitution and statutes of a state given by its highest judicial tribunal in eases that involve no question of general or commercial law and no question of right under the Constitution or laws of the nation.</p> <p>[Ed. Note. — For cases in point, see vol. 13, Cent Dig. Courts, §§ 956, 957. State laws as rules of decision in federal courts, see notes to Wilson v. Perrin, 11 C. C. A. 71; Hill v. Hite, 29 C. C. A. 553.]</p> <p>2. Fellow Servant Law — State Court Holds Applicable to Minins Corporations.</p> <p>The Supreme Court of Minnesota has held that the fellow servant law of that state (section 2701, Gen. St. Minn. 1894) applies to a mining corporation which is not a railroad corporation, but which owns and uses a short line of railroad to mine its ore; that the statute applies to “all persons and corporations operating a line of railroad incident to which are the hazards and risks intended to be guarded against by the Legislature.”</p> <p>3. Same — Not Violative of Constitution of United States. A fellow servant law thus construed is not so clearly beyond the limits of the police power of the state that it must be declared violative of the Constitution of the United States.</p> <p>(Syllabus by the Court.)</p>