CITGO Asphalt Refining Co. v. Frescati Shipping Co.

Decided March 30, 2020. Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 18-565 · 589 U.S. 348 (2020) · Cited 54 times

Holding

The plain language of the safe-berth clause in the parties’ subcharter agreement—requiring petitioners to designate a safe berth for a vessel to load and discharge cargo—establishes a warranty of safety.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. James N. Kirby, Pty Ltd. · 543 U.S. 14 (2004)
• United States v. Gaudin · 515 U.S. 506 (1995)
• Mastrobuono v. Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc. · 514 U.S. 52 (1995)
• Stolt-Nielsen S. A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp. · 559 U.S. 662 (2010)
• TSC Industries, Inc. v. Northway, Inc. · 426 U.S. 438 (1976)
• Lexecon Inc. v. Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach · 523 U.S. 26 (1998)
• Sun Oil Co. v. Wortman · 486 U.S. 717 (1988)
• Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States · 579 U.S. 162 (2016)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Sonia Sotomayor’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2020). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).