| Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp. | ||||||
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Supreme Court of the United States |
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| Argued April 18, 1949 Decided June 20, 1949 |
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| Full case name | Cohen, et al. v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp., et al. | |||||
| Citations | 337 U.S. 541 (more) 69 S. Ct. 1221; 93 L. Ed. 1528 |
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| Court membership | ||||||
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| Case opinions | ||||||
| Majority | Jackson, joined by Vinson, Black, Reed, Murphy, Burton | |||||
| Concur/dissent | Douglas, joined by Frankfurter | |||||
| Dissent | Rutledge | |||||
| Laws applied | ||||||
| Federal Rules of Civil Procedure | ||||||
Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541 (1949), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court in the wake of the decision in Guaranty Trust Co. v. York that signified a high deference to state law in choice of law issues for federal courts sitting in diversity.
Contents |
The case involved a small shareholder suing a corporation, and a New Jersey statute required the shareholder to post bond for expenses. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure did not require such a bond, and the court held that the state law should be followed. The court reasoned that the state law created a liability for litigation expenses that should be included.[1]