Winfree v. Northern Pacific Railway Co.
Citations
- 227 U.S. 296
- 33 S. Ct. 273
- 57 L. Ed. 518
- 1913 U.S. LEXIS 2299
Syllabus
<p>While there are exceptions, especially in the case of remedial statutes, the general rule is that statutes are addressed to the future and not to the past; and, in the absence of explicit words to that effect, statutes are not retroactive in their application.</p> <p>The Employers’ Liability Act of 1908 introduced a new policy and radically changed existing law and will not be construed as a remedial statute having retrospective effect.</p> <p>An action brought under the Employers’ Liability Act of 1908 by the personal representative of the person who was killed prior to the passage óf the act cannot be sustained as stating a cause of action under the law of the State, where that law gives the action to the parents.</p> <p>Damages to the estate of one killed by negligence is a distinct cause of action, under the laws of the State of Washington, from, damages to the parents of the person so killed.</p>
How courts have described this case
Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.
- holding that prospective application is appropriate when “a statute permits recovery in cases where recovery could not be had before”
- refusing to apply retroactively in a civil case a statute which “takes away material defenses”
- refusing to apply retroactively in a civil case a statute which \takes away material defenses\
- statute creating new federal cause of action for wrongful death inapplicable to case arising before enactment in absence of \explicit words\ or \clear implication\
- a new remedy could not be used when it created a liability and changed a defense not present when the cause of action accrued
- a new remedy could not be used when it created a liability and changed a defense not present when the cause of action accrued
Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).
Judges: McKenna
Read full opinion on CourtListenerSourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).
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