Facts of the Case

In a case similar to United States v. Belmont (1937), the United States attempted to assist the Soviet Union in recovering assets of the First Russian Insurance Company which the New York Superintendent of Insurance refused to release.

Question

Did U.S. agreements with the U.S.S.R. compel New York to release the assets?

Conclusion

The Court required New York to release the assets. Justice Douglas affirmed Justice Sutherland's reasoning in Belmont and argued that New York could not "rewrite our foreign policy to conform to its own domestic policies. Power over external affairs . . . is vested in the national government exclusively."