Affolder v. New York
339 U.S. 96 · Decided March 13, 1950 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Affolder v. New York was decided on March 13, 1950 by a vote of 5–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Liability, miscellaneous” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 339 U.S. 96 · 70 S. Ct. 509 · 94 L. Ed. 2d 683 · 1950 U.S. LEXIS 2241
- Docket number
- 200
- Decided
- March 13, 1950
- Argued
- November 18, 1949
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority opinion
- Tom C. Clark
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Liability, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Federal Employers' Liability Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Jurisdictional dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Jurisdictional dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Did not participate: William O. Douglas.
Full case caption
Affolder v. New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Co.
SCDB identifiers: case 1949-051, docket 1949-051-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Liability, miscellaneous”
- Reider v. Thompson
- Carter v. Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay Railway Co.
- O'Donnell v. Elgin
- Cosmopolitan Shipping Co. v. McAllisterAltered precedent
- Weade v. Dichmann
- Urie v. Thompson
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Employers' Liability Act
- Brown v. Western Railway of Alabama
- Boyd v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company
- Kilpatrick v. Texas & Pacific Railway Co.
- Moore v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co.
- Reynolds v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co.
- Wilkerson v. McCarthy
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- United States v. Spelar
- Treichler v. WisconsinLaw held unconstitutional
- Faulkner v. Gibbs
- Reilly v. Pinkus
- United States v. Capital Transit Company
- Brown v. Western Railway of Alabama
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error