On this day in American Legal History
April 25, 1938: Supreme Court overturns century of federal case law in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins
Monday 25 April 2011
In Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938), the Supreme Court held that federal courts must apply state law when hearing state law claims under diversity jurisdiction. ''Diversity jurisdiction'' refers to the ability of a federal court to hear civil claims brought under state law where the parties are citizens of different states. This ruling overturned almost a century of federal civil procedure law and established the modern law of diversity jurisdiction for U.S. federal courts.
as an aside, today is also my dear Lady's birthday, which is really all I care about today
