Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co.
| Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. | |
|---|---|
| Argued October 31, 1988 Decided June 15, 1989 | |
| Full case name | Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Company |
| Citations | 491 U.S. 1 (more) 109 S.Ct. 2273, 105 L.Ed.2d 1 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Case history | |
| Prior | 832 F.2d 1343 (CA3 1987), cert granted, 485 U.S. 958 (1988) |
| Holding | |
| The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), clearly expresses an intent to render states liable for damages in federal court. Furthermore, Congress may constitutionally render states liable for damages in federal court when legislating under its Article I powers. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Brennan (Parts I and II), joined by Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, Scalia |
| Plurality | Brennan (Part III), joined by Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens |
| Concurrence | Stevens |
| Concur/dissent | White, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy (Part I) |
| Concur/dissent | Scalia, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy (Parts II, III, and IV) |
| Dissent | O'Connor |
Overruled by | |
| Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida (1996) | |
Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co., 491 U.S. 1 (1989), was a 1989 United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) rendered states liable for monetary damages in federal court. Furthermore, the Court held that Congress could constitutionally abrogate the immunity from suit conferred to each state by the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, provided that it legislated under its Article I powers. This decision was overruled seven years later in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida (1996).