The United States v. Spelar case in 1949 revolved around a wrongful death claim filed by the administratrix of an American citizen who died while working for the U.S government at an airbase in Newfoundland, Canada. The plaintiff sought compensation under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), which allows private parties to sue the United States for most torts committed by persons acting on behalf of America. However, this act does not apply to any claim arising in a foreign country. The Supreme Court held that since Newfoundland was considered foreign territory at that time, it fell outside FTCA's jurisdiction and thus dismissed her claims against the federal government for negligence causing wrongful death. This decision established what is known as "the foreign country exception" within FTCA jurisprudence.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Spelar, Justice Robert H. Jackson disagreed with the majority's decision to deny a wrongful death claim against the U.S government by an American citizen who was injured in Newfoundland, Canada at a U.S Air Force base. He argued that this case should not be treated differently just because it occurred outside of America’s borders and believed that there is no reason why Congress would want to exclude such cases from being heard under The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). He pointed out that FTCA does not explicitly state any geographical limitations on its applicability and therefore should apply universally regardless of where an incident occurs if it involves US citizens or entities. Furthermore, he contended that denying claims like these could potentially harm international relations as foreign countries may feel obligated to compensate their own citizens when they are harmed by American personnel overseas due to lack of recourse within US courts.