Kossick v. United Fruit Co.

Decided April 17, 1961. John Marshall Harlan delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 96 · 365 U.S. 731 (1961) · Cited 611 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.

• Southern Pacific Company v. Jensen · 244 U.S. 205 (1916)
• Huron Portland Cement Co. v. City of Detroit · 362 U.S. 440 (1960)
• Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance · 348 U.S. 310 (1955)
• Davis v. Department of Labor and Industries of Wash. · 317 U.S. 249 (1942)
• Just v. Chambers · 312 U.S. 383 (1941)
• Romero v. International Terminal Operating Co. · 358 U.S. 354 (1959)
• The Osceola · 189 U.S. 158 (1903)
• Calmar Steamship Corp. v. Taylor · 303 U.S. 525 (1938)
• Cortes v. Baltimore Insular Line, Inc. · 287 U.S. 367 (1932)
• Kelly v. Washington Ex Rel. Foss Co. · 302 U.S. 1 (1937)
• Red Cross Line v. Atlantic Fruit Co. · 264 U.S. 109 (1924)
• The Tungus v. Skovgaard · 358 U.S. 588 (1959)
• The Hamilton · 207 U.S. 398 (1907)
• The Iroquois · 194 U.S. 240 (1904)

Cited by

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

• Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. James N. Kirby, Pty Ltd. · 543 U.S. 14 (2004)
• Great Lakes Ins. SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co. · 601 U.S. 65 (2024)
• East River Steamship Corp. v. Transamerica Delaval Inc. · 476 U.S. 858 (1986)
• American Dredging Co. v. Miller · 510 U.S. 443 (1994)
• Exxon Corp. v. Central Gulf Lines, Inc. · 500 U.S. 603 (1991)
• Miles v. Apex Marine Corp. · 498 U.S. 19 (1990)
• Vaughan v. Atkinson · 369 U.S. 527 (1962)
• Yamaha Motor Corp., USA v. Calhoun · 516 U.S. 199 (1996)
• Foremost Insurance v. Richardson · 457 U.S. 668 (1982)
• Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers International Union v. Mobil Oil Corp. · 426 U.S. 407 (1976)

Official text

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

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John Marshall Harlan’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).