The Bremen et al. v. Zapata Off-Shore Co.

Decided June 12, 1972. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-322 · 407 U.S. 1 (1972) · Cited 3,455 times

Holding

The forum-selection clause, which was a vital part of the towing contract, is binding on the parties unless respondent can meet the heavy burden of showing that its enforcement would be unreasonable, unfair, or unjust.

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 8–1.

“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.

• Bisso v. Inland Waterways Corp. · 349 U.S. 85 (1955)
• Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Southern Pacific Co. · 273 U.S. 207 (1927)
• Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert · 330 U.S. 501 (1947)
• National Equipment Rental, Ltd. v. Szukhent · 375 U.S. 311 (1964)
• United States v. Seckinger · 397 U.S. 203 (1970)
• The \ Scotland\"" · 105 U.S. 24 (1882)
• Boyd v. Grand Trunk Western Railroad · 338 U.S. 263 (1949)
• The Kensington · 183 U.S. 263 (1902)

Cited by

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

• Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute · 499 U.S. 585 (1991)
• Scherk v. Alberto-Culver Co. · 417 U.S. 506 (1974)
• Stewart Organization, Inc. v. Ricoh Corp. · 487 U.S. 22 (1988)
• Great Lakes Ins. SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co. · 601 U.S. 65 (2024)
• Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. · 473 U.S. 614 (1985)
• Vimar Seguros Y Reaseguros, S. A. v. M/V Sky Reefer · 515 U.S. 528 (1995)
• Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz · 471 U.S. 462 (1985)
• Atlantic Marine Constr. Co. v. United States Dist. Court for Western Dist. of Tex. · 571 U.S. 49 (2013)
• Southland Corp. v. Keating · 465 U.S. 1 (1984)
• Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. v. Regal-Beloit Corp. · 561 U.S. 89 (2010)
• Lauro Lines S.R.L. v. Chasser · 490 U.S. 495 (1989)
• Cortez Byrd Chips, Inc. v. Bill Harbert Construction Co. · 529 U.S. 193 (2000)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Warren Earl Burger’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1972). 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).