Indian Towing Co., Inc. v. United States
350 U.S. 61 · Decided November 21, 1955 · 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
Indian Towing Co., Inc. v. United States was decided on November 21, 1955 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Felix Frankfurter 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
- 350 U.S. 61 · 76 S. Ct. 122 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 48 · 1955 U.S. LEXIS 1379
- Docket number
- 8
- Decided
- November 21, 1955
- Argued
- February 10, 1955
- Reargued
- October 13, 1955
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Felix Frankfurter
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Federal Tort Claims Act or Alien Tort Statute
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative 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 | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority |
Full case caption
Indian Towing Co., Inc., et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1955-007, docket 1955-007-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- Williams v. United States.
- General Box Co. v. United States
- Hatahley v. United States
- United States v. Nielson
- United States v. Bergh
- Massachusetts Bonding & Insurance Co. v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Tort Claims Act or Alien Tort Statute
- United States v. Brown
- Gardner v. Panama Railroad Co.
- Hubsch v. United States
- Richards v. United States
- United States v. Hohri
- William McNeil v. United States
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Williams v. United States.
- Liquid Carbonic Corp. v. United States
- Neese v. Southern Railway Co.
- Bernhardt v. Polygraphic Company of America, Inc.
- Ryan Stevedoring Co., Inc. v. Pan-Atlantic Steamship Corp.
- Shields v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co.
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