United States v. Reliable Transfer Co., Inc.
421 U.S. 397 · Decided May 19, 1975 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
United States v. Reliable Transfer Co., Inc. was decided on May 19, 1975 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 421 U.S. 397 · 95 S. Ct. 1708 · 44 L. Ed. 2d 250 · 1975 U.S. LEXIS 151
- Docket number
- 74-363
- Decided
- May 19, 1975
- Argued
- March 19, 1975
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- 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
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Reliable Transfer Co., Inc.
SCDB identifiers: case 1974-098, docket 1974-098-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- United States v. Orleans
- Scheuer v. Rhodes
- United States v. Hopkins
- Logue v. United States
- United States v. Mason
- Doe v. McMillan
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Tort Claims Act or Alien Tort Statute
- United States v. Hohri
- Richards v. United States
- William McNeil v. United States
- United States v. Brown
- Gardner v. Panama Railroad Co.
- Hubsch v. United States
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Gulf Oil Corp. v. Copp Paving Co., Inc.
- Bowman Transportation, Inc. v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc.
- Kelley v. Southern Pacific Co.
- Standard Pressed Steel Co. v. Department of Revenue of Washington
- Train v. City of New York
- Train v. Campaign Clean Water, Inc.
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