how did harry tompkins lawyer tell him he lost?

What happened to Harry Tompkins?

Always a consistent performer, Harry Tompkins placed among the top ten money winners for 11 consecutive years. After leaving the circuit, he still competed in occasional old-timers’ events around his Dublin, Texas, home.

What did Harry Tompkins do in his youth?

In his youth, however, he worked horses on an eastern dude ranch and entered competition at Madison Square Garden in 1946. Harry Tompkins shared bull-riding honors with the famed Jim Shoulders over a 13-year period.

How many rodeos did Tom Tompkins do?

Tompkins was an all-around cowboy and it didn’t matter what animal he drew the crowd was in for a show. The stories about professional rodeo athletes many rodeo fans cut their teeth on are the stories of Tompkins life with a schedule that included long road trips and flying his airplane as he took part in as many as 75 rodeos a year at his peak.

How many times did Jim Tompkins win the bull riding World Championship?

An eight-time world champion, Tompkins won five bull riding titles including three straight years from 1948-50 and two more with a title in 1952 and eight years later in 1960. His all-around cowboy titles came later in his career with wins in 1952 and 1960. He won both the bareback riding and bull riding titles in 1952.

What happened to Tompkins in Erie?

The collision knocked Tompkins to the ground, and his right arm was crushed beneath the train's wheels. An ambulance took Tompkins to a local hospital where doctors amputated most of his right arm. The train that had hit Tompkins was owned and operated by the Erie Railroad Company.

Who won in Erie v Tompkins?

A federal court jury awarded Tompkins damages. The 1842 Supreme Court decision in Swift v. Tyson ruled that federal courts sitting in diversity jurisdiction should apply federal common law to non-statutory causes of action.

What is an Erie guess?

directly on point, a federal court, including the Eighth Circuit, must make what is informally referred to as an "Erie guess." An "Erie guess" is an attempt to predict what a state's highest court would decide if it were to address the issue itself.

When was Erie decided?

1938The doctrine follows from the Supreme Court landmark decision in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins (1938). The case overturned Swift v. Tyson, which allowed federal judges sitting in a state to ignore the common law local decisions of state courts in the same state in diversity actions.

What happened to Tompkins after he was shot?

and took him to Pittston Hospital. After the accident, Tompkins regained consciousness in the hospital receiving room. The doctors sedated him, stitched up the wound on his face, and amputated the remainder of his right arm.

What happened to Tompkins when he was walking home from his mother in law's house?

According to Tompkins, he was walking home from his mother-in-law's house at about 2 a.m., when friends driving home from a lake resort 20 miles away happened to pass by and give him a ride to a railroad crossing a block away from his house.

What happened to the train that struck the man in the head?

Something projecting from the train, probably an unsecured refrigerator car door, struck him in the head and knocked him unconscious.

Why did Tompkins file in the Southern District of New York?

For example, scholars have assumed that Tompkins filed his action in the Southern District of New York in order to choose the more favorable general common law rule. And it is certainly the case that the general common law rule was better for him than the Pennsylvania common law rule.

What happened to William Colwell?

At about 2:30 a.m. on Friday, July 27, 1934, William Colwell of Hughestown, Pennsylvania was awakened by two young men banging on his front door. When he went downstairs, they told him that someone had been run over by a train.

Why did Tompkins file a diversity action against Erie Railroad Company?

Tompkins filed a diversity action against Erie in federal court, because the relevant federal common law rule on people injured by trains was more favorable to him than the Pennsylvania rule. While Tompkins won at trial and on appeal, the Supreme Court reversed in Erie Railroad Company v.

Was Tompkins a federal common law?

Tompkins “was completely unheralded and unexpected.”. For almost a century, the Court had followed its opinion in Swift v. Tyson, holding that federal courts sitting in diversity should apply “general” common law, which gradually became “federal” common law. But after Erie, “federal general common law” was no more.

What does the name Tompkins mean?

Tompkins is a patronymic form of Thomas, from the nickname Tom, and the added diminutive suffix "- kin", meaning near relative, plus the suffix "-s", itself a short form of "son". Thomas is ultimately of biblical origin, deriving from an Aramaic byname meaning "twin".

What was Tompkins' position on the Porpoise?

Despite protesting that his position working for Sir Percival meant he was protected and could not be pressed, he had no written documentation to back up his statement, and so ended up as a seaman, working as a forecastle hand. When the Porpoise encountered the Artemis at sea, Tompkins recognized Jamie as a known criminal and informed the captain, who did not immediately act on the information.

What color is Tompkins' hair?

Tompkins wears his lank brown hair in a seaman's pigtail, and is blind in one eye. He has a long nose and large, transparent ears, which reminds Claire of a rat. After the fire in the print ship, his face is disfigured by burn scars.

August 08, 2018

On Monday I wrote about the legal legacy of Erie Railroad Company v Tompkins. Then last night on Legal History Blog I learned that in a forthcoming article, The Ballad of Harry James Tompkins, Brian Frye challenges the key factual assumptions at the heart of the Erie case.

Did Harry Tompkins Lie?

On Monday I wrote about the legal legacy of Erie Railroad Company v Tompkins. Then last night on Legal History Blog I learned that in a forthcoming article, The Ballad of Harry James Tompkins, Brian Frye challenges the key factual assumptions at the heart of the Erie case.