MERCHANTS MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY INSURANCE COMPANY v. SMART (1925)

MERCHANTS MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY INSURANCE COMPANY v. SMART
	Term: 1924
Important Dates
	Argued: January 22, 1925
	Decided: March 2, 1925
Outcome
	Affirmed (includes modified)
Vote
	8-0
Majority
	Louis Dembitz Brandeis • Pierce Butler • Oliver Wendell Holmes • James Clark McReynolds • Edward Terry Sanford • George Sutherland • William Howard Taft • Willis Van Devanter

MERCHANTS MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY INSURANCE COMPANY v. SMART is a case that was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on March 2, 1925. The case was argued before the court on January 22, 1925.

In an 8-0 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the lower court. The case originated from the New York State Trial Court.

For a full list of cases decided in the 1920s, click here. For a full list of cases decided by the Taft Court, click here.

^[1]

About the case

Subject matter: Economic Activity - State or local government regulation, especially of business (cf. federal pre-emption of state court jurisdiction, federal pre-emption of state legislation or regulation)
Petitioner: Insurance company, or surety
Petitioner state: Unknown
Respondent type: Physically injured person, including wrongful death, who is not an employee
Respondent state: Unknown
Citation: 267 U.S. 126
How the court took jurisdiction: Writ of error
What type of decision was made: Opinion of the court (orally argued)
Who was the chief justice: William Howard Taft
Who wrote the majority opinion: William Howard Taft

These data points were accessed from The Supreme Court Database, which also attempts to categorize the ideological direction of the court's ruling in each case. This case's ruling was categorized as liberal.