Pennsylvania Railroad Co. v. O'Rourke
344 U.S. 334 · Decided January 12, 1953 · 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
Pennsylvania Railroad Co. v. O'Rourke was decided on January 12, 1953 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Stanley F. Reed wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Election of remedies” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 344 U.S. 334 · 73 S. Ct. 302 · 97 L. Ed. 2d 367 · 1953 U.S. LEXIS 2556
- Docket number
- 60
- Decided
- January 12, 1953
- Argued
- December 8, 1952
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Stanley F. Reed
- Opinion assigned by
- Stanley F. Reed
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Election of remedies
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Pennsylvania Railroad Co. v. O'Rourke
SCDB identifiers: case 1952-033, docket 1952-033-01.
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Cases on the same legal provision: Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act
- Voris v. Eikel
- Thompson v. Lawson
- O'Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc.
- Ryan Stevedoring Co., Inc. v. Pan-Atlantic Steamship Corp.
- Lawson v. Suwannee Fruit & Steamship Co.
- Reed v. the Yaka
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Sanford v. Kepner
- Lloyd A. Fry Roofing Co. v. Wood
- F. W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, Inc.
- Steele v. Bulova Watch Co., Inc.
- American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. United States
- De La Rama Steamship Co., Inc. v. United States
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