Defoe v. Phillip, No. 12-1586 (3d Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CasePhillip and Defoe worked together at an oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Phillip was driving a company-owned vehicle near the refinery when it struck Defoe. While recovering, Defoe filed a claim and received benefits under the Virgin Islands Workers’ Compensation Act, 24 V.I. Code 250. He also sued Phillip for negligence in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, which granted summary judgment for Phillip, holding that the Act prevents injured employees from suing their coworkers. The Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands reversed, declaring that it was not bound by Third Circuit pre-2007 decisions on Virgin Islands law. Phillips sought certiorari to the Third Circuit, which upheld the decision of the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, stating that that court “is on the road to Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 78 (1938),” which requires federal courts to defer to local courts on issues of local law. The court held that it will defer to the Supreme Court on questions of local law, subject to a manifest-error standard of review, including with respect to its pre-2007 precedents; the court did not manifestly err in rejecting that precedent.
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