Steele et al. v. Bulova Watch Co., Inc.

Decided December 22, 1952. Tom C. Clark delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 38 · 344 U.S. 280 (1952) · Cited 370 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 6–2.

“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.

• Foley Bros., Inc. v. Filardo · 336 U.S. 281 (1949)
• Blackmer v. United States · 284 U.S. 421 (1932)
• Mandeville Island Farms, Inc. v. American Crystal Sugar Co. · 334 U.S. 219 (1948)
• Skiriotes v. Florida · 313 U.S. 69 (1941)
• Vermilya-Brown Co. v. Connell · 335 U.S. 377 (1948)
• Thomsen v. Cayser · 243 U.S. 66 (1917)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Ford v. United States · 273 U.S. 593 (1926)
• Cole v. Cunningham · 133 U.S. 107 (1890)
• Strassheim v. Daily · 221 U.S. 280 (1911)
• United States v. Bausch & Lomb Optical Co. · 321 U.S. 707 (1944)
• United States v. Bowman · 260 U.S. 94 (1922)
• United States v. Frankfort Distilleries, Inc. · 324 U.S. 293 (1945)
• The Hamilton · 207 U.S. 398 (1907)
• United States v. Univis Lens Co. · 316 U.S. 241 (1942)
• Lamar v. United States · 240 U.S. 60 (1916)
• United States v. National Lead Co. · 332 U.S. 319 (1947)
• Phelps v. McDonald · 99 U.S. 298 (1879)

Cited by

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

• Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic Int'l, Inc. · 600 U.S. 412 (2023)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arabian American Oil Co. · 499 U.S. 244 (1991)
• Hellenic Lines Ltd. v. Rhoditis · 398 U.S. 306 (1970)
• Continental Ore Co. v. Union Carbide & Carbon Corp. · 370 U.S. 690 (1962)
• Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd. · 561 U.S. 247 (2010)
• Chafin v. Chafin · 568 U.S. 165 (2013)
• Lauritzen v. Larsen · 345 U.S. 571 (1953)
• Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. California · 509 U.S. 764 (1993)
• Sale v. Haitian Centers Council, Inc. · 509 U.S. 155 (1993)
• New York v. O'NEILL · 359 U.S. 1 (1959)
• Trump v. CASA, Inc. · 606 U.S. 831 (2025)

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).