Tennessee Coal, Iron & R.R. Co. v. George
United States Supreme Court
233 U.S. 354 (1914)
Wiley George (plaintiff), an engineer for the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company (Railroad) (defendant), was seriously injured in Alabama by a defective throttle while repairing a locomotive, and he sued the Railroad in Georgia state court under an Alabama statute making employers liable for injuries caused by defective workplace machinery. The Railroad argued a separate Alabama venue statute required such claims to be brought only in Alabama courts, and that the Full Faith and Credit Clause obligated the Georgia court to honor that venue restriction; the trial court disagreed and ruled for George, and the judgment was affirmed on appeal before the Railroad sought Supreme Court review.
Whether the Full Faith and Credit Clause requires a court in one state to honor another state's statute restricting venue for a transitory cause of action to that state's own courts.