Watson et Ux. v. Employers Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd. et al.

Decided December 6, 1954. Hugo Lafayette Black delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 6 · 348 U.S. 66 (1954) · Cited 229 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–0.

“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.

• Osborn v. Ozlin · 310 U.S. 53 (1940)
• Terral v. Burke Construction Co. · 257 U.S. 529 (1922)
• Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Delta & Pine Land Co. · 292 U.S. 143 (1934)
• Frost & Frost Trucking Co. v. Railroad Comm'n of Cal. · 271 U.S. 583 (1926)
• St. Clair v. Cox · 106 U.S. 350 (1882)
• Alaska Packers Assn. v. Industrial Accident Comm'n of Cal. · 294 U.S. 532 (1935)
• The Lafayette Ins. Co. v. FRENCH · 59 U.S. 404 (1856)
• Home Insurance v. Dick · 281 U.S. 397 (1930)
• Hoopeston Canning Co. v. Cullen · 318 U.S. 313 (1943)
• Griffin v. McCoach · 313 U.S. 498 (1941)
• Paul v. Virginia · 75 U.S. 168 (1869)
• Hammond Packing Co. v. Arkansas · 212 U.S. 322 (1909)
• Motion Picture Patents Co. v. Universal Film Manufacturing Co. · 243 U.S. 502 (1917)
• Pacific Employers Insurance v. Industrial Accident Comm'n · 306 U.S. 493 (1939)
• Old Wayne Mut. Life Assn. of Indianapolis v. McDonough · 204 U.S. 8 (1907)
• Stephenson v. Binford · 287 U.S. 251 (1932)
• Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance v. Spratley · 172 U.S. 602 (1899)
• Frick v. Pennsylvania · 268 U.S. 473 (1925)
• Power Manufacturing Co. v. Saunders · 274 U.S. 490 (1927)
• Hanover Fire Insurance v. Harding · 272 U.S. 494 (1926)
• Hughes v. Fetter · 341 U.S. 609 (1951)
• Magruder v. Drury · 235 U.S. 106 (1914)
• American Bank & Trust Co. v. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta · 256 U.S. 350 (1921)
• City and County of Denver v. Denver Union Water Co. · 246 U.S. 178 (1918)
• Looney, Attorney General of Texas v. Crane Co · 245 U.S. 178 (1916)
• Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Foster · 247 U.S. 105 (1918)
• John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance v. Yates · 299 U.S. 178 (1936)

Cited by

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

• Allstate Insurance v. Hague · 449 U.S. 302 (1981)
• Clay v. Sun Ins. Office Ltd. · 363 U.S. 207 (1960)
• Rush v. Savchuk · 444 U.S. 320 (1980)
• World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson · 444 U.S. 286 (1980)
• Hanson v. Denckla · 357 U.S. 235 (1958)
• Van Dusen v. Barrack · 376 U.S. 612 (1964)
• Richards v. United States · 369 U.S. 1 (1962)
• Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance · 348 U.S. 310 (1955)
• National Equipment Rental, Ltd. v. Szukhent · 375 U.S. 311 (1964)
• International Paper Co. v. Ouellette · 479 U.S. 481 (1987)
• Hellenic Lines Ltd. v. Rhoditis · 398 U.S. 306 (1970)
• Carroll v. Lanza · 349 U.S. 408 (1955)
• Texas v. New Jersey · 379 U.S. 674 (1965)
• Clay v. Sun Insurance Office, Ltd. · 377 U.S. 179 (1964)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).