Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co.
New York Court of Appeals
248 N.Y. 339, 162 N.E. 99 (1928)
- Written by Lauren Petersen, JD
Facts
Helen Palsgraf (plaintiff) was standing on a platform owned by the Long Island Railroad Co. (railroad) (defendant). While she was waiting to catch a train, a different train bound for another destination stopped at the station. Two men ran to catch the train as it was pulling away. One of the men was carrying a package that, unbeknownst to anyone on the platform, contained fireworks. The first man jumped aboard the train safely, but the man with the package had difficulty. Two train employees helped the man get on the train. In the process, the man dropped the package. It fell to the rails and exploded, causing several scales at the other end of the platform to dislodge and injure Palsgraf. Palsgraf sued the railroad for negligence. The trial court granted judgment for Palsgraf, and the appellate division affirmed. The railroad appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Cardozo, C.J.)
Dissent (Andrews, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 802,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
