P. C. Pfeiffer Co., Inc., et al. v. Ford et al.

Decided November 27, 1979. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 78-425 · 444 U.S. 69 (1979) · Cited 246 times

Holding

Ford and Bryant were engaged in maritime employment at the time of their injuries because they were engaged in intermediate steps of moving cargo between ship and land transportation.

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.

• Northeast Marine Terminal Co. v. Caputo · 432 U.S. 249 (1977)
• Southern Pacific Company v. Jensen · 244 U.S. 205 (1916)
• Nacirema Operating Co. v. Johnson · 396 U.S. 212 (1969)
• Grant Smith-Porter Ship Co. v. Rohde · 257 U.S. 469 (1922)
• Nogueira v. New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad · 281 U.S. 128 (1930)
• Pennsylvania Railroad v. O'Rourke · 344 U.S. 334 (1953)

Cited by

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

• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Perini North River Associates · 459 U.S. 297 (1983)
• Herb's Welding, Inc. v. Gray · 470 U.S. 414 (1985)
• National Labor Relations Board v. International Longshoremen's Ass'n · 447 U.S. 490 (1980)
• Sun Ship, Inc. v. Pennsylvania · 447 U.S. 715 (1980)
• Southwest Marine, Inc. v. Gizoni · 502 U.S. 81 (1991)

Official text

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

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Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1979). 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).