Walters v. Inexco Oil Co.

I. Introduction

At the heart of this case is the question whether our statute1 requiring assessment of a penalty against an unsuccessful appellant in this Court should be enforced in the federal courts under the Erie2 doctrine.

In the case at bar, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi held that the penalty statute did not apply, even though the sole basis for federal subject matter jurisdiction was diversity of citizenship. 28 U.S.C. § 1332. That ruling has been appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit which, invoking the…