Colonial American Life Insurance Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
491 U.S. 244 · Decided June 15, 1989 · 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
Colonial American Life Insurance Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue was decided on June 15, 1989 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)” in the Federal Taxation area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 491 U.S. 244 · 109 S. Ct. 2408 · 105 L. Ed. 2d 199 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 2974
- Docket number
- 88-396
- Decided
- June 15, 1989
- Argued
- April 18, 1989
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)
- Issue area
- Federal Taxation
- Legal provision
- Internal Revenue Code
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Colonial American Life Insurance Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
SCDB identifiers: case 1988-117, docket 1988-117-01.
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Cases on the same legal provision: Internal Revenue Code
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Same Term, same area (Federal Taxation)
- United States v. Ron Pair Enterprises, Inc.
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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