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Chicago & Alton R. Co. v. McWhirt, 243 U.S. 422 (1917)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Chicago & Alton R. Co. v. McWhirt, 243 U.S. 422 (1917)
Chicago & Alton Railroad Company v. McWhirt No. 714 Argued January 29, 30, 1917 Decided March 26, 1917 243 U.S. 422
ERROR TO THE SUPREME COURT
OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI
Syllabus
A provision in the special charter of a railroad company permitting the grantee to lease its road to any other railroad company "upon such terms as may be mutually agreed upon" is not to be construed as authority for the lessor and lessee to determine what shall be their respective liabilities to third persons who may be tortiously injured in the operation of the road when leased; therefore it creates no contract right which would be impaired by subsequent general legislation rendering the lessor and lessee jointly liable for such torts when committed by the latter, and this quite apart from any power of the legislature to alter or amend the charter.
A state law rendering any railroad company of the state leasing its road to a company of another state liable jointly with the lessee for actionable torts of the latter committed in the operation of the road does not deprive of due process or deny the equal protection of the laws.
When the plaintiff pleads a case of joint liability under the state law against a resident and a nonresident defendant, the case is not removable from the state to the federal court in the absence of any showing that the defendants were joined fraudulently for the purpose of preventing removal.
187 S.W. 830 affirmed.
The case is stated in the opinion.
Contents:
Chicago:
U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Chicago & Alton R. Co. v. McWhirt, 243 U.S. 422 (1917) in 243 U.S. 422 243 U.S. 423. Original Sources, accessed August 30, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=Z5MV41BRLMQBSRY.
MLA:
U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Chicago & Alton R. Co. v. McWhirt, 243 U.S. 422 (1917), in 243 U.S. 422, page 243 U.S. 423. Original Sources. 30 Aug. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=Z5MV41BRLMQBSRY.
Harvard:
U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Chicago & Alton R. Co. v. McWhirt, 243 U.S. 422 (1917). cited in 1917, 243 U.S. 422, pp.243 U.S. 423. Original Sources, retrieved 30 August 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=Z5MV41BRLMQBSRY.
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