McMAHON v. UNITED STATES ET AL. (342 U.S. 25)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided November 5, 1951 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 342 U.S. 25 · 72 S. Ct. 17
- Docket
- No. 17
- Argued
- October 17, 1951
- Decided
- November 5, 1951
- Term
- October Term 1951
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority author
- Justice Jackson (R.H.)
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Clark, Justice Burton, Justice R. H. Jackson (wrote), Justice Frankfurter, Justice Reed
- Dissenting
- Justice Douglas (wrote), Justice Black (wrote)
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Jackson delivered the opinion of the Court. Petitioner, a seaman, brought this suit in admiralty alleging in the first count a cause of action based on negligence and unseaworthiness, while in the second count he sought maintenance and cure. He alleged the actionable wrongs to have taken place in November and December .of 1945, but. he did not file his libel until January 22, 1948. The Act which gives to seamen employed by the United States on government-owned vessels the same rights as those employed on privately owned and operated American vessels provides that claims like those of the petitioner, “. . . if administratively disallowed in whole or in part . . .,” may be enforced pursuant to the provisions of the Suits in Admiralty Act. That Act in turn provides that any suit thereunder “. . . shall be brought within two years after the cause of action arises. ...” Courts of Appeals have rendered conflicting decisions as to whether the date of injury or the date of disallowance of the claim commences the period of limitation. The District Court dismissed this petitioner’s complaint on the ground set up by the Government that it was not filed within two years from the dates of his injuries. The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed on the same ground, adhering to its view expressed in an earlier case, and, it subsequently developed, in agreement with the…
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