Coffee v. United States’s Empirical Analysis
157 F.2d 968 · 1946
Citation profile
43 federal appellate · 2 district · 8 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 63 later decisions — most recently July 2008 · most notably Bruce Construction Corp. v. United States ex rel. Westinghouse Electric Supply Co. (1957), Bowden v. United States (1956)
43 federal appellate · 2 district · 8 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Fleisher Engineering & Construction Co. v. United States ex rel. Hallenbeck · Glassell-Taylor Co. v. Magnolia Petroleum Co. · United States ex rel. Birmingham Slag Co. v. Perry
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 63 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““All the cases agree that without giving the notice there is no right of action on the bond for the use of furnishers who have no direct contractual relation to the contractor. In no case has writing been held unnecessary. But there has been liberality as to the manner of communicating the written notice to the contractor. * * *” (Emphasis added).”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““In giving the statute a reasonable construction in order to effect its remedial purpose, we think that a distinction should be drawn between the provision explicitly stating the condition precedent to the right to sue and the provision as to the manner of serving notice. The structure of the statute indicates the distinction. The proviso, which defines the condition precedent to suit, states that the material-man or laborer ‘shall have a right of action upon the said payment bond upon giving written notice to said contractor’ within ninety days from the date of fmal performance. The condition as thus expressed was fully met. Then the statute goes on to provide for the mode of service of the notice. ‘Such notice shall be served by mailing the same by registered mail, postage prepaid,’ or ‘in any manner’ in which the United States marshal ‘is authorized by law to serve summons.’ We think that the purpose of this provision as to manner of service was to assure receipt of the notice, not to make the described method mandatory so as to deny right of suit when the required written notice within the specified time had actually been given and received. In the face of such receipt, the reason for a particular mode of service fails. It is not reasonable to suppose that Congress intended to insist upon an idle form. Rather, we think that Congress intended to provide a method which would afford sufficient proof of service when receipt of the required written notice was not shown.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“written notice to said contractor within ninety days from the date on which such person ... furnished or supplied the last of the material for which such claim is made, stating with substantial accuracy the amount claimed and the name of [subcontractor]. 6”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.