Davis v. Alexander

Davis v Alexander, 269 U.S. 114 (1925), is a US corporate law case, concerning the duties of parent corporations for actions of subsidiaries.^[1]

Davis v. Alexander
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 12, 1925 Decided November 16, 1925
Full case name	Davis v. Alexander
Citations	269 U.S. 114 (more) 46 S. Ct. 34; 70 L. Ed. 186; 1925 U.S. LEXIS 781
Case history
Prior	93 Okla. 159, 220 P. 358 (1923); cert. granted, 265 U.S. 577 (1924).
Court membership
Chief Justice William H. Taft Associate Justices Oliver W. Holmes Jr. · Willis Van Devanter James C. McReynolds · Louis Brandeis George Sutherland · Pierce Butler Edward T. Sanford · Harlan F. Stone
Case opinion
Majority	Brandeis, joined by unanimous

Facts

Cattle were negligently injured while being transported from New Mexico to Oklahoma City.

Judgment

The Supreme Court held the federal government was liable for torts of a railroad subsidiary.

Justice Brandeis, writing for a unanimous court, said the following:

Where one railroad company actually controls another and operates both as a single system, the dominant company will be liable for injuries due to the negligence of the subsidiary company.

See also

• US corporate law