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No. 09-1298October Term 2009Decided Sep 28, 2010

Docket 09-1298October Term 2009 (2009–2010)

General Dynamics Corp. v. United States

The U.S. government sued defense contractors for breach of contract, but the contractors could not defend themselves without revealing classified information.

Case status

Current stage
Decided
Latest event
Decision released Sep 28, 2010
Case Accepted
Arguments
Decision ReleasedSep 28, 2010
What it's about

The U.S. government sued defense contractors for breach of contract, but the contractors could not defend themselves without revealing classified information. The Supreme Court ruled that when the state secrets privilege prevents a contractor from raising a valid defense, the courts must dismiss the case and leave the parties where they were.

Question presented

Can the government sue a federal contractor for breach of contract then use the state secrets doctrine to prevent the contractor from raising a defense that would require the contractor to disclose secret information?

Case path

Decision released Sep 28, 2010

Area

Business and Regulation

Timing

Decided September 28, 2010

The Court released its decision on September 28, 2010 without hearing oral argument.

Grounding

Grounding
Primary-source trail available.
Note
Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
Checked
Jul 25, 2026
Primary materials3