Urie v. Thompson
337 U.S. 163 · Decided May 31, 1949 · 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
Urie v. Thompson was decided on May 31, 1949 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Wiley B. Rutledge wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Liability, miscellaneous” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 337 U.S. 163 · 69 S. Ct. 1018 · 93 L. Ed. 2d 1282 · 1949 U.S. LEXIS 2940
- Docket number
- 129
- Decided
- May 31, 1949
- Argued
- January 3, 1949
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Wiley B. Rutledge
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Liability, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Federal Employers' Liability Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Special concurrence | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority |
Full case caption
Urie v. Thompson, Trustee
SCDB identifiers: case 1948-083, docket 1948-083-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Liability, miscellaneous”
- Cosmopolitan Shipping Co. v. McAllisterAltered precedent
- Weade v. Dichmann
- Black Diamond Steamship Corp. v. Robert Stewart & Sons, Ltd.
- Lawson v. Suwannee Fruit & Steamship Co.
- Coray v. Southern Pacific Co.
- O'Donnell v. Elgin
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Employers' Liability Act
- Kilpatrick v. Texas & Pacific Railway Co.
- Reynolds v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co.
- Wilkerson v. McCarthy
- Boyd v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company
- Brown v. Western Railway of Alabama
- Eckenrode v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Mandel Brothers, Inc. v. Wallace
- Ford Motor Co. v. United States
- Eckenrode v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
- Kordel v. United States
- United States v. Urbuteit
- Grand River Dam Authority v. Grand-Hydro
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