Marjorie Zicherman, Etc., et al. v. Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd.

Decided January 16, 1996. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 94-1361 · 516 U.S. 217 (1996) · Cited 241 times

Holding

In a suit brought under Article 17, a plaintiff may not recover loss-of-society damages for the death of a relative in a plane crash on the high seas, within the meaning of the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA).

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 9–0.

“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.

• Eastern Airlines, Inc. v. Floyd · 499 U.S. 530 (1991)
• Offshore Logistics, Inc. v. Tallentire · 477 U.S. 207 (1986)
• Romero v. International Terminal Operating Co. · 358 U.S. 354 (1959)
• Executive Jet Aviation, Inc. v. City of Cleveland · 409 U.S. 249 (1972)
• Miles v. Apex Marine Corp. · 498 U.S. 19 (1990)
• Michigan Central Railroad v. Vreeland · 227 U.S. 59 (1913)
• Mobil Oil Corp. v. Higginbotham · 436 U.S. 618 (1978)

Cited by

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

• El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd. v. Tsui Yuan Tseng · 525 U.S. 155 (1999)
• Medellin v. Texas · 552 U.S. 491 (2008)
• Lozano v. Montoya Alvarez · 572 U.S. 1 (2014)
• Abbott v. Abbott · 560 U.S. 1 (2010)
• Sanchez-Llamas v. Oregon · 548 U.S. 331 (2006)
• Negusie v. Holder · 555 U.S. 511 (2009)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1996). 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).