United States v. Johnson, Personal Representative of the Estate of Johnson

Decided May 18, 1987. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 85-2039 · 481 U.S. 681 (1987) · Cited 351 times

Holding

The Feres doctrine bars an FTCA action on behalf of a service member killed during an activity incident to service, even if the alleged negligence is by civilian employees of the Federal Government.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Feres v. United States · 340 U.S. 135 (1950)
• Brooks v. United States · 337 U.S. 49 (1949)
• United States v. Brown · 348 U.S. 110 (1954)
• Stencel Aero Engineering Corp. v. United States · 431 U.S. 666 (1977)
• United States v. Shearer · 473 U.S. 52 (1985)
• United States v. Muniz · 374 U.S. 150 (1963)
• Chappell v. Wallace · 462 U.S. 296 (1983)
• United States v. Standard Oil Co. Of California · 332 U.S. 301 (1947)
• Rayonier Inc. v. United States · 352 U.S. 315 (1957)
• Hatzlachh Supply Co. v. United States · 444 U.S. 460 (1980)
• Parker v. Levy · 417 U.S. 733 (1974)
• Dalehite v. United States · 346 U.S. 15 (1953)
• Indian Towing Co. v. United States · 350 U.S. 61 (1955)
• United States v. Yellow Cab Co. · 340 U.S. 543 (1951)
• Goldman v. Weinberger · 475 U.S. 503 (1986)
• Lockheed Aircraft Corp. v. United States · 460 U.S. 190 (1983)
• United Air Lines, Inc. v. United States · 379 U.S. 951 (1964)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Stanley · 483 U.S. 669 (1987)
• Boyle v. United Technologies Corp. · 487 U.S. 500 (1988)
• Welch v. Texas Department of Highways & Public Transportation · 483 U.S. 468 (1987)
• Solorio v. United States · 483 U.S. 435 (1987)

Official text

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

Explore from here

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

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1987). 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).