Allgeyer v. Louisiana

Allgeyer v. Louisiana, 165 U.S. 578 (1897), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Louisiana law prohibited anyone from obtaining insurance on Louisiana property from out-of-state companies that had not complied with state law. Allgeyer & Company purchased marine insurance from a New York company by mail. The state fined them, and they challenged the law under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Significance

Justice Peckham’s opinion held that the ’liberty’ protected by the Fourteenth Amendment includes the right of individuals to enter into contracts. The Louisiana law interfered with this liberty by preventing citizens from purchasing insurance from out-of-state companies. This case marked the beginning of the ’liberty of contract’ doctrine and the Lochner era of substantive due process, during which the Court struck down many economic regulations as violations of contractual freedom.

Category

US Federal Case Law