Kernan, Administrator, v. American Dredging Co.

Decided February 3, 1958. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 34 · 355 U.S. 426 (1958) · Cited 440 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 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.

• Urie v. Thompson · 337 U.S. 163 (1949)
• Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad v. Gotschall · 244 U.S. 66 (1917)
• O'Donnell v. Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co. · 338 U.S. 384 (1949)
• San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway Co. v. Wagner · 241 U.S. 476 (1916)
• Coray v. Southern Pacific Co. · 335 U.S. 520 (1949)
• Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. Layton · 243 U.S. 617 (1917)
• Rogers v. Missouri Pacific Railroad · 352 U.S. 500 (1957)
• Carter v. Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay Railway Co. · 338 U.S. 430 (1949)
• Davis v. Wolfe · 263 U.S. 239 (1923)
• The Osceola · 189 U.S. 158 (1903)
• Tiller v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad · 318 U.S. 54 (1943)
• Wilkerson v. McCarthy · 336 U.S. 53 (1949)
• Ex Parte Republic of Peru · 318 U.S. 578 (1943)
• St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co. v. Taylor · 210 U.S. 281 (1908)
• Just v. Chambers · 312 U.S. 383 (1941)
• The Hamilton · 207 U.S. 398 (1907)
• Lilly v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad · 317 U.S. 481 (1943)
• Lindgren v. United States · 281 U.S. 38 (1930)
• Moore v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. · 291 U.S. 205 (1934)
• Brady v. Terminal Railroad Assn. · 303 U.S. 10 (1938)
• Cox v. Roth · 348 U.S. 207 (1955)

Cited by

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

• Consolidated Rail Corporation v. Gottshall · 512 U.S. 532 (1994)
• Sea-Land Services, Inc. v. Gaudet · 414 U.S. 573 (1974)
• Monessen Southwestern Railway Co. v. Morgan · 486 U.S. 330 (1988)
• Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc. · 398 U.S. 375 (1970)
• Gillespie v. United States Steel Corp. · 379 U.S. 148 (1964)
• Miles v. Apex Marine Corp. · 498 U.S. 19 (1990)
• Gallick v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad · 372 U.S. 108 (1963)
• Sinkler v. Missouri Pacific Railroad · 356 U.S. 326 (1958)
• American Dredging Co. v. Miller · 510 U.S. 443 (1994)
• Yamaha Motor Corp., USA v. Calhoun · 516 U.S. 199 (1996)
• Metro-North Commuter Railroad v. Buckley · 521 U.S. 424 (1997)

Official text

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

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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).