United States v. National Surety Co.’s Empirical Analysis
254 U.S. 73 · 1920
Citation profile
52 federal appellate · 23 district · 33 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 177 later decisions (20 by the Supreme Court) — most recently May 2008 · most notably Prudence Realization Corp. v. Geist (1942), Spokane County v. United States (1929)
52 federal appellate · 23 district · 33 state decisions — followed in 12 states
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.
Appellate journey
reviewedthe decision below (from Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals)
Relationships
Relies on The United States v. The State Bank of North Carolina · Lidderdale's Executors v. Executor of Robinson · United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Union Bank & Trust Co. · National Bank of Commerce of Kansas City, Mo. v. Rockefeller
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 177 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““The priority secured to the United States by section 3466 [ 31 U.S.C.A. § 191 ] is priority over all other creditors; that is, private persons and other public bodies. This priority the surety obtains upon discharging its obligation. But what the surety asks here is not to enj oy like priority over such other creditors, but equality with the United States, a creditor whose debt it partly secured. To accord such equality would abridge the priority expressly conferred upon the government.””
3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““Whenever the principal in any bond given to the United States is insolvent, or whenever, such principal being deceased, his estate and effects which come to the hands of his executor, administrator, or assignee, are insufficient for the payment of his debts, and, in either of such cases, any surety on the bond, or the executor, administrator, or assignee of such surety pays to the United States the money due upon such bond, such surety, his executor, administrator, or assignee, shall have the like priority for the recovery and receipt of the moneys out of the estate and effects of such insolvent or deceased principal as is secured to the United States; and may bring and maintain a suit upon the bond, in law or equity, in his own name, for the recovery of all moneys paid thereon.””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““Section 3466, embodying the common-law rule by which the sovereign has priority over other creditors of an insolvent, United States v. State Bank of North Carolina, 6 Pet. 29, 35 [ 8 L. Ed. 308 ] declares that ‘the debts due to the United States shall be first satisfied.’ ””
2 later decisions 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.