Law Commons^™

The Harris V. Taylor Phoenix, Bradford A. Caffrey

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

One of the most remarkable aspects of Harris v. Taylor, a decision which has been described as "revolting to common sense" and, somewhat more diplomatically, as "unfortunate"' is the fact that it has taken sixty-four years for the question raised therein to come before the Court of Appeal again. In the intervening years, it has suffered, somewhat unjustly, critical attacks resulting from misapprehension as to what happened and what was decided in that case.

Harris v. Taylor is a classic example of a case properly decided but for the wrong reasons. The plaintiff, domiciled in the Isle of Man, brought …