Foremost Insurance Co. et al. v. Richardson et al.

Decided June 23, 1982. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 80-2134 · 457 U.S. 668 (1982) · Cited 524 times

Holding

In light of the need for uniform rules governing navigation, the potential impact on maritime commerce when two vessels collide on navigable waters, and the uncertainty and confusion that would necessarily accompany a jurisdictional test tied to the commercial use of a given boat, a complaint alleging a collision between two vessels including pleasure boats on navigable waters properly states a claim within the admiralty jurisdiction of the federal courts.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Executive Jet Aviation, Inc. v. City of Cleveland · 409 U.S. 249 (1972)
• Just v. Chambers · 312 U.S. 383 (1941)
• Coryell v. Phipps · 317 U.S. 406 (1943)
• Levinson v. Deupree · 345 U.S. 648 (1953)
• Hagans v. Lavine · 415 U.S. 528 (1974)
• Southern Pacific Company v. Jensen · 244 U.S. 205 (1916)
• Kossick v. United Fruit Co. · 365 U.S. 731 (1961)
• Testa v. Katt · 330 U.S. 386 (1947)

Cited by

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

• Sisson v. Ruby · 497 U.S. 358 (1990)
• Jerome B. Grubart, Inc. v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. · 513 U.S. 527 (1995)
• Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. James N. Kirby, Pty Ltd. · 543 U.S. 14 (2004)
• East River Steamship Corp. v. Transamerica Delaval Inc. · 476 U.S. 858 (1986)
• Yamaha Motor Corp., USA v. Calhoun · 516 U.S. 199 (1996)
• Exxon Corp. v. Central Gulf Lines, Inc. · 500 U.S. 603 (1991)
• Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC · 598 U.S. 175 (2023)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1982). 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).