O'Leary v. Illinois Terminal Railroad
Supreme Court of Missouri
299 S.W.2d 873 (1957)
Missouri residents O'Leary (plaintiffs) sued Illinois Terminal Railroad (defendant) in Missouri state court after a train collision in Illinois injured them; the railroad raised contributory negligence, and the trial court instructed the jury under Missouri law, which placed the burden on the railroad to prove the plaintiff's contributory negligence, resulting in a $7,000 verdict for the O'Learys. The railroad appealed, arguing Illinois law should have applied, placing the burden instead on the O'Learys to prove ordinary care; the court of appeals affirmed under Missouri law but transferred the case to the state supreme court.
Whether a forum state should apply the law of the state where an injury occurred, rather than its own law, when the burden of proving fault is substantive rather than merely procedural.