Ministry of Defense and Support for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran v. Dariush Elahi
556 U.S. 366 · Decided April 21, 2009 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Ministry of Defense and Support for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran v. Dariush Elahi was decided on April 21, 2009 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Stephen G. Breyer 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
- 556 U.S. 366 · 129 S. Ct. 1732 · 173 L. Ed. 2d 511 · 2009 U.S. LEXIS 3118
- Docket number
- 07-615
- Decided
- April 21, 2009
- Argued
- January 12, 2009
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 116 S 2337
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Dissent | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
Ministry of Defense and Support for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran v. Dariush Elahi
SCDB identifiers: case 2008-045, docket 2008-045-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- Graham County Soil and Water Conservation District v. United States ex Rel. Karen T. Wilson
- Esther Hui v. Yanira Castaneda
- Abdus-Shahid M. S. Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Charles Wilkie v. Harvey Frank Robbins
- John D. Ashcroft v. Abdullah Al-Kidd
- Northern Insurance Company of New York v. Chatham County
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Donald C. Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
- Kari E. Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for Dupont Savings and Investment Plan
- United States v. Eurodif S. A.
- Pacific Bell Telephone Company v. Linkline Communications, Inc.
- Entergy Corporation v. Riverkeeper, Inc.
- Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company 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