Briach v. Pennsylvania Railroad

OPINION OF THE COURT

VAN ARTSDALEN, District Judge.

Edward J. Mohar, Jr., plaintiff’s decedent, was killed when an automobile that he was driving on a public highway in Pennsylvania was struck by a railroad locomotive at a grade level crossing. Plaintiff brought action under the Wrongful Death and Survival of Actions statutes of Pennsylvania,1 basing jurisdiction on diversity citizenship.

At the conclusion of plaintiff’s case, defendant’s motion for a directed verdict pursuant to Rule 50, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1970), was granted, the court being of the opinion that under Pennsylvania…