United States v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. (338 U.S. 366)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided December 12, 1949 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 338 U.S. 366 · 70 S. Ct. 207
- Decided
- December 12, 1949
- Term
- October Term 1949
- Vote
- 7–1
- Majority author
- Justice Vinson
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Chief Justice Vinson delivered the opinion of the Court. These cases, here on certiorari, present this important question under the Federal Tort Claims Act: May an insurance company bring suit in its own name against the United States upon a claim to which it has become subrogated by payment to an insured who would have been able to bring such an action? That question, in turn, requires our consideration of R. S. 3477, the “anti-assignment” statute. Three cases, each presenting a slightly different aspect of the problem, were heard by the Court. In No. 35, the complaint alleges that an employee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was injured as a result of the negligence of a United States Post Office Department employee. Respondent insurance carrier had insured the Federal Reserve Bank against its liability for workmen’s compensation, and duly paid the injured person’s claim under the New York. Workmen’s Compensation Law. The complaint further alleges that the injured person failed to commence any action against the United States within one year after the accident, and that his inaction operated, according to New York law, as an assignment to the insurer of his cause of action against the United States. The District Court dismissed the complaint, 76 F. Supp. 333, but the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed and remanded the cause for trial. 170 F. 2d 469.…
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