Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Samson Tug and Barge Co., Inc. v. International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Alaska Longshore Division, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 24-5730, 24-6017 · judgment August 22, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
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Does a union carry its burden of proof on the work preservation defense to a secondary boycott claim by citing its members’ work for any employer in the region?
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Does Congress’ “hot cargo” prohibition in 29 U.S.C. § 158(e) apply to union signatory terms interpreted within private arbitration and then imposed on non-parties?
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Did the courts below err by creating an effective longshore exception to the 8(b)(4) and 8(e) prohibitions when the statutory text exempts only garment and construction industries?
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Did Congress exclude from the National Labor Relations Act’s secondary boycott protections those employers who rent their business premises?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Daniel Joseph Spurgeon
Davis Grimm Payne and Marra
For respondent
Emily M Maglio
Leonard Carder LLP
Proceedings
- May 04 2026Petition DENIED.
- Apr 15 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/1/2026.
- Apr 02 2026Waiver of right of respondents International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Alaska Longshore Division, et al. to respond filed.
- Feb 27 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 6, 2026)
- Dec 08 2025Application (25A668) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until February 27, 2026.
- Dec 04 2025Application (25A668) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from December 29, 2025 to February 27, 2026, submitted to Justice Kagan.