Harbor Tug and Barge Company v. John Papai et Ux.
Decided May 12, 1997. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 95-1621 · 520 U.S. 548 (1997) · Cited 225 times
Holding
The trial court’s action in this case was not “plain error” of the sort which an appellate court may notice under Rule 52(b).
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 6–3.
Majority · 6
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Antonin Scalia
- Clarence Thomas
- David Hackett Souter
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 3
- John Paul Stevens · filed a dissenting opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Stephen Gerald Breyer
“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.
- Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis · 515 U.S. 347 (1995)
- McDermott International, Inc. v. Wilander · 498 U.S. 337 (1991)
- South Chicago Coal & Dock Co. v. Bassett · 309 U.S. 251 (1940)
- Southwest Marine, Inc. v. Gizoni · 502 U.S. 81 (1991)
- Northeast Marine Terminal Co. v. Caputo · 432 U.S. 249 (1977)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1997). 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).