United States v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States
384 U.S. 323 · Decided June 6, 1966 · 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
United States v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was decided on June 6, 1966 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Tom C. Clark wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Priority of federal fiscal claims” in the Federal Taxation area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 384 U.S. 323 · 86 S. Ct. 1561 · 16 L. Ed. 2d 593 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 2819
- Docket number
- 645
- Decided
- June 6, 1966
- Argued
- April 21, 1966
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Tom C. Clark
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Priority of federal fiscal claims
- Issue area
- Federal Taxation
- Legal provision
- Internal Revenue Code
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-116, docket 1965-116-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Priority of federal fiscal claims”
- Nicholas v. United States
- United States v. Speers
- Joint Industry Board of the Electrical Industry v. United States
- United States v. Vermont
- Meyer v. United States
- United States v. Pioneer American Insurance Co.
Cases on the same legal provision: Internal Revenue Code
- United States v. Catto
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Tellier et Ux.
- United States v. O'Malley
- Malat et Ux. v. Riddell
- Fribourg Navigation Co., Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Stidger et Ux.
Same Term, same area (Federal Taxation)
- United States v. Speers
- Fribourg Navigation Co., Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
- Malat et Ux. v. Riddell
- Motorlease Corp. v. United States.
- United States v. O'Malley
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Tellier et Ux.
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