Sun Ship, Inc. v. Pennsylvania et al.

Decided June 23, 1980. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 79-343 · 447 U.S. 715 (1980) · Cited 233 times

Holding

A State may apply its workers' compensation scheme to landbased injuries that fall within the coverage of the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (Act), as amended in 1972.

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.

• Calbeck v. Travelers Insurance Co. · 370 U.S. 114 (1962)
• Davis v. Department of Labor and Industries of Wash. · 317 U.S. 249 (1942)
• Southern Pacific Company v. Jensen · 244 U.S. 205 (1916)
• Northeast Marine Terminal Co. v. Caputo · 432 U.S. 249 (1977)
• Nacirema Operating Co. v. Johnson · 396 U.S. 212 (1969)
• Industrial Comm'n of Wis. v. McCartin · 330 U.S. 622 (1947)
• Grant Smith-Porter Ship Co. v. Rohde · 257 U.S. 469 (1922)
• Washington v. W. C. Dawson & Co. · 264 U.S. 219 (1924)
• P. C. Pfeiffer Co. v. Ford · 444 U.S. 69 (1979)
• State Industrial Comm'n of NY v. Nordenholt Corp. · 259 U.S. 263 (1922)

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)
• Yamaha Motor Corp., USA v. Calhoun · 516 U.S. 199 (1996)
• 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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William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1980). 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).