Chappell v. Wallace
462 U.S. 296 · Decided June 13, 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
Chappell v. Wallace was decided on June 13, 1983 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger 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
- 462 U.S. 296 · 103 S. Ct. 2362 · 76 L. Ed. 2d 586 · 1983 U.S. LEXIS 55
- Docket number
- 82-167
- Decided
- June 13, 1983
- Argued
- April 26, 1983
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal 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 | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| 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
Chappell et al. v. Wallace et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1982-104, docket 1982-104-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- Bush v. Lucas
- United States v. Mitchell
- Block v. Neal
- Lockheed Aircraft Corp. v. United States
- Kosak v. United States
- Board of Education of Rogers v. McCluskey
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