Massachusetts Bonding & Insurance Co. v. United States
352 U.S. 128 · Decided December 10, 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
Massachusetts Bonding & Insurance Co. v. United States was decided on December 10, 1956 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas 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
- 352 U.S. 128 · 77 S. Ct. 186 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 189 · 1956 U.S. LEXIS 36
- Docket number
- 31
- Decided
- December 10, 1956
- Argued
- November 8, 1956
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- 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 | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent |
Full case caption
Massachusetts Bonding & Insurance Co. et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-013, docket 1956-013-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- United States v. Bergh
- Rayonier Incorporated v. United States
- General Box Co. v. United States
- Hatahley v. United States
- United States v. New York
- Indian Towing Co., Inc. 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.
- Richards v. United States
- Hubsch v. United States
- United States v. Hohri
- William McNeil v. United States
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Thompson v. Coastal Oil Co.
- Holophane Co., Inc. v. United States.
- United States v. Bergh
- United States v. Interstate Commerce Commission
- United States v. Howard
- Rayonier Incorporated v. United States
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