General Box Co. v. United States
351 U.S. 159 · Decided May 7, 1956 · 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
General Box Co. v. United States was decided on May 7, 1956 by a vote of 7–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Stanley F. Reed wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 351 U.S. 159 · 76 S. Ct. 728 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 1055 · 1956 U.S. LEXIS 1637
- Docket number
- 383
- Decided
- May 7, 1956
- Argued
- March 28, 1956
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Stanley F. Reed
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (takings clause)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent |
Full case caption
General Box Co. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1955-078, docket 1955-078-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- Hatahley v. United States
- Indian Towing Co., Inc. v. United States
- United States v. Bergh
- Williams v. United States.
- Massachusetts Bonding & Insurance Co. v. United States
- Rayonier Incorporated v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (takings clause)
- United States v. Twin City Power Co.
- Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States
- Berman v. Parker
- United States v. Dow
- Ivanhoe Irrigation District v. McCracken
- Atchison v. Public Utilities Commission of California
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Williams v. United States.
- Liquid Carbonic Corp. v. United States
- Indian Towing Co., Inc. v. United States
- Neese v. Southern Railway Co.
- Bernhardt v. Polygraphic Company of America, Inc.
- Ryan Stevedoring Co., Inc. v. Pan-Atlantic Steamship Corp.
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