Clay v. Sun Insurance Office Limited

Decided June 13, 1960. Felix Frankfurter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 349 · 363 U.S. 207 (1960) · Cited 271 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

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.

• Home Insurance v. Dick · 281 U.S. 397 (1930)
• Watson v. Employers Liability Assurance Corp. · 348 U.S. 66 (1954)
• City of Chicago v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. · 357 U.S. 77 (1958)
• Order of United Commercial Travelers of America v. Wolfe · 331 U.S. 586 (1947)
• County of Allegheny v. Frank Mashuda Co. · 360 U.S. 185 (1959)
• Meredith v. Winter Haven · 320 U.S. 228 (1943)
• Toomer v. Witsell · 334 U.S. 385 (1948)
• Louisiana Power & Light Co. v. City of Thibodaux · 360 U.S. 25 (1959)
• Pacific Employers Insurance v. Industrial Accident Comm'n · 306 U.S. 493 (1939)
• Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Delta & Pine Land Co. · 292 U.S. 143 (1934)
• International Shoe Co. v. Washington · 326 U.S. 310 (1945)
• Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Electric Manufacturing Co. · 313 U.S. 487 (1941)
• Railroad Comm'n of Tex. v. Pullman Co. · 312 U.S. 496 (1941)
• McGee v. International Life Insurance · 355 U.S. 220 (1957)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Burford v. Sun Oil Co. · 319 U.S. 315 (1943)
• Cohens v. Virginia · 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• Barrows v. Jackson · 346 U.S. 249 (1953)
• Travelers Health Assn. v. Virginia Ex Rel. State Corporation Comm'n · 339 U.S. 643 (1950)
• Rescue Army v. Municipal Court of Los Angeles · 331 U.S. 549 (1947)
• Alabama Public Service Commission v. Southern Railway Co. · 341 U.S. 341 (1951)
• Alabama State Federation of Labor v. McAdory · 325 U.S. 450 (1945)
• Thompson v. Magnolia Petroleum Co. · 309 U.S. 478 (1940)
• Liverpool, New York & Philadelphia Steamship Co. v. Commissioners of Emigration · 113 U.S. 33 (1885)
• Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections · 360 U.S. 45 (1959)
• American Federation of Labor v. Watson · 327 U.S. 582 (1946)
• Hoopeston Canning Co. v. Cullen · 318 U.S. 313 (1943)
• Metropolitan Casualty Ins. Co. v. Brownell · 294 U.S. 580 (1935)
• Griffin v. McCoach · 313 U.S. 498 (1941)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Allstate Insurance v. Hague · 449 U.S. 302 (1981)
• Clay v. Sun Insurance Office, Ltd. · 377 U.S. 179 (1964)
• England v. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners · 375 U.S. 411 (1964)
• Quackenbush v. Allstate Insurance · 517 U.S. 706 (1996)
• Wisconsin v. Constantineau · 400 U.S. 433 (1971)
• Zwickler v. Koota · 389 U.S. 241 (1967)
• Lehman Brothers v. Schein · 416 U.S. 386 (1974)
• Orr v. Orr · 440 U.S. 268 (1979)
• Fair Assessment in Real Estate Assn., Inc. v. McNary · 454 U.S. 100 (1981)
• International Ass'n of MacHinists v. Street · 367 U.S. 740 (1961)
• National Equipment Rental, Ltd. v. Szukhent · 375 U.S. 311 (1964)
• Shotwell Manufacturing Co. v. United States · 371 U.S. 341 (1963)
• Ricci v. Chicago Mercantile Exchange · 409 U.S. 289 (1973)
• Diffenderfer v. Central Baptist Church of Miami, Florida, Inc. · 404 U.S. 412 (1972)
• Mckesson v. Doe · 592 U.S. 1 (2020)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Felix Frankfurter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).