Kossick v. United Fruit Co.

365 U.S. 731 (1961)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
K
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Kossick v. United Fruit Co.

United States Supreme Court
365 U.S. 731 (1961)

Facts

John Kossick (plaintiff) worked on a ship owned by United Fruit Company (United) (defendant). Kossick suffered from a thyroid condition for which United was obligated to pay for maintenance and cure. United insisted that Kossick undergo treatment at a public hospital in New York, where he could receive free care, but Kossick was concerned that he would receive inadequate treatment and asked United to pay for him to see a private doctor instead. United refused but orally agreed that if Kossick went to the public hospital, United would bear any consequences of improper treatment. Based on that promise, Kossick underwent treatment at the public hospital. However, Kossick allegedly received improper treatment and suffered serious injuries. Kossick sued United in federal district court, seeking to recover $250,000. The district court dismissed Kossick’s complaint after finding that the alleged agreement was void under New York’s statute of frauds because it was not in writing. The court of appeals affirmed the dismissal. On certiorari, the United States Supreme Court considered whether the alleged agreement was governed by state law or by maritime law, which generally treated oral agreements as valid.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Harlan, J.)

Dissent (Frankfurter, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 804,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Admiralty
Federal Courts

Key Terms