United States v. Standard Oil Co. of California

A Standard Oil Company of California (Standard) (defendant) truck driven by its employee Boone (defendant) injured U.S. soldier John Etzel. The government (plaintiff) paid Etzel's medical expenses and wages while he was disabled, but Standard and Boone separately paid Etzel $300 to release his own claims against them. The government then sued the defendants to recover its own expenses and for harm to the government-soldier relationship. The district court ruled for the government, but the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that state common law governed a suit like this brought by the United States as a private litigant, and that California law defeated the claim. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.