Block v. Neal
460 U.S. 289 · Decided March 7, 1983 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Block v. Neal was decided on March 7, 1983 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 460 U.S. 289 · 103 S. Ct. 1089 · 75 L. Ed. 2d 67 · 1983 U.S. LEXIS 4
- Docket number
- 81-1494
- Decided
- March 7, 1983
- Argued
- January 19, 1983
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Federal Tort Claims Act or Alien Tort Statute
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Block, Secretary of Agriculture, et al. v. Neal
SCDB identifiers: case 1982-039, docket 1982-039-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- Lockheed Aircraft Corp. v. United States
- Chappell v. Wallace
- Bush v. Lucas
- United States v. Mitchell
- Board of Education of Rogers v. McCluskey
- Velde v. National Black Police Assn., Inc.
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Tort Claims Act or Alien Tort Statute
- United States v. Hohri
- William McNeil v. United States
- Richards v. United States
- Jose Francisco Sosa v. Humberto Alvarez-Machain
- United States v. Joseph Olson
- United States v. Brown
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- United States v. Security Industrial Bank
- Xerox Corp. v. County of Harris
- Director v. Perini North River Associates
- Herman & Maclean v. Huddleston
- Memphis Bank & Trust Co. v. Garner
- Energy Reserves Group, Inc. v. Kansas Power & Light Co.
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error