United States v. United Continental Tuna Corp.

Decided March 30, 1976. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 74-869 · 425 U.S. 164 (1976) · Cited 240 times

Holding

Claims within the scope of the Public Vessels Act remain subject to its terms after the 1960 amendment to the Suits in Admiralty Act, and, since respondent's claim falls within the Public Vessels Act, the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that that Act's reciprocity provision did not apply.

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 7–1.

“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.

• Morton v. Mancari · 417 U.S. 535 (1974)
• Regional Rail Reorganization Act Cases · 419 U.S. 102 (1974)
• United States v. Wiltberger · 18 U.S. 76 (1820)
• United States v. Borden Co. · 308 U.S. 188 (1939)
• Silver v. New York Stock Exchange · 373 U.S. 341 (1963)
• American Stevedores, Inc. v. Porello · 330 U.S. 446 (1947)
• Bulova Watch Co. v. United States · 365 U.S. 753 (1961)
• Johansen v. United States · 343 U.S. 427 (1952)
• Canadian Aviator, Ltd. v. United States · 324 U.S. 215 (1945)
• Rodgers v. United States · 185 U.S. 83 (1902)
• Johnson v. United States Shipping Bd. Emergency Fleet Corporation · 280 U.S. 320 (1930)
• The Lake Monroe · 250 U.S. 246 (1919)

Cited by

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

• Smith v. United States · 507 U.S. 197 (1993)
• Kremer v. Chemical Construction Corp. · 456 U.S. 461 (1982)
• Crawford Fitting Co. v. J. T. Gibbons, Inc. · 482 U.S. 437 (1987)
• United States v. Fausto · 484 U.S. 439 (1988)
• Radzanower v. Touche Ross & Co. · 426 U.S. 148 (1976)
• County of Washington v. Gunther · 452 U.S. 161 (1981)
• Parsons Steel, Inc. v. First Alabama Bank · 474 U.S. 518 (1986)
• United States v. Aguilar · 515 U.S. 593 (1995)
• Train v. Colorado Public Interest Research Group, Inc. · 426 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Randall v. Loftsgaarden · 478 U.S. 647 (1986)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1976). 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).