Erie R. Co. v. Hilt, 247 U.S. 97 (1918)

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Erie Railroad Company v. Hilt

No. 846

Argued May 3, 1918
Decided May 20, 1918
247 U.S. 97

CERTIORARI TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

Syllabus

The New Jersey law providing that any person injured by engine or car while walking, standing, or playing on any railroad shall be deemed to have contributed and shall not recover from the company (Comp.Stats., 1911, p. 4245), applies to a boy less than seven years old.

In the absence of a decision of the state supreme court, this Court inclines to follow an intermediate appellate tribunal in construing a state statute.

When the injured child’s object in reaching under a car was to recover a plaything, held there was no basis for implying an invitation on the part of the railroad company.

246 F. 800 reversed.