United States v. Little Lake Misere Land Co., Inc., et al.

Decided June 18, 1973. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-1459 · 412 U.S. 580 (1973) · Cited 297 times

Holding

Under settled principles governing the choice of law by federal courts, Louisiana's Act 315 of 1940 does not apply to the mineral reservations agreed to by the parties in 1937 and 1939.

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.

• Clearfield Trust Co. v. United States · 318 U.S. 363 (1943)
• De Sylva v. Ballentine · 351 U.S. 570 (1956)
• Wallis v. Pan American Petroleum Corp. · 384 U.S. 63 (1966)
• Leiter Minerals, Inc. v. United States · 352 U.S. 220 (1957)
• Reconstruction Finance Corporation v. Beaver County · 328 U.S. 204 (1946)
• United States v. Standard Oil Co. Of California · 332 U.S. 301 (1947)
• United States v. Fox · 94 U.S. 315 (1877)
• Sunderland v. United States · 266 U.S. 226 (1924)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Home Building & Loan Assn. v. Blaisdell · 290 U.S. 398 (1934)
• Board of Comm'rs of Jackson Cty. v. United States · 308 U.S. 343 (1939)
• United States v. County of Allegheny · 322 U.S. 174 (1944)
• United States v. Yazell · 382 U.S. 341 (1966)
• Davies Warehouse Co. v. Bowles · 321 U.S. 144 (1944)
• Mason v. United States · 260 U.S. 545 (1923)
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America v. Hoosier Cardinal Corp. · 383 U.S. 696 (1966)
• James v. Dravo Contracting Co. · 302 U.S. 134 (1937)
• United States v. Mitchell · 403 U.S. 190 (1971)
• City of El Paso v. Simmons · 379 U.S. 497 (1965)
• Royal Indemnity Co. v. United States · 313 U.S. 289 (1941)
• Kuhn v. Fairmont Coal Co. · 215 U.S. 349 (1910)
• Bank of America National Trust & Savings Ass'n v. Parnell · 352 U.S. 29 (1956)
• New York v. United States · 326 U.S. 572 (1946)

Cited by

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

• North Dakota v. United States · 460 U.S. 300 (1983)
• Boyle v. United Technologies Corp. · 487 U.S. 500 (1988)
• City of Milwaukee v. Illinois · 451 U.S. 304 (1981)
• United States v. Kimbell Foods, Inc. · 440 U.S. 715 (1979)
• DelCostello v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters · 462 U.S. 151 (1983)
• Empire Healthchoice Assurance, Inc. v. McVeigh · 547 U.S. 677 (2006)
• Texas Industries, Inc. v. Radcliff Materials, Inc. · 451 U.S. 630 (1981)
• Robertson v. Wegmann · 436 U.S. 584 (1978)
• National Farmers Union Insurance v. Crow Tribe of Indians · 471 U.S. 845 (1985)
• Miree v. DeKalb County · 433 U.S. 25 (1977)
• Burks v. Lasker · 441 U.S. 471 (1979)
• Smith v. United States · 431 U.S. 291 (1977)
• Oregon Ex Rel. State Land Board v. Corvallis Sand & Gravel Co. · 429 U.S. 363 (1977)

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 (1973). 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).