Bangor Punta Operations, Inc., et al. v. Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Co. et al.

Decided June 19, 1974. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-718 · 417 U.S. 703 (1974) · Cited 212 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• New Colonial Ice Co. v. Helvering · 292 U.S. 435 (1934)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Meyer v. Fleming · 327 U.S. 161 (1946)
• Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Co. v. United States · 361 U.S. 173 (1959)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 349 U.S. 294 (1955)
• Koster v. (American) Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co. · 330 U.S. 518 (1947)
• Ross v. Bernhard · 396 U.S. 531 (1970)
• United States v. Trans-Missouri Freight Assn. · 166 U.S. 290 (1897)
• Hawes v. Oakland · 104 U.S. 450 (1882)
• Perma Life Mufflers, Inc. v. International Parts Corp. · 392 U.S. 134 (1968)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. United States Realty & Improvement Co. · 310 U.S. 434 (1940)
• Burnet v. Clark · 287 U.S. 410 (1932)
• Independent Wireless Telegraph Co. v. Radio Corp. of America · 269 U.S. 459 (1926)
• Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. v. Minneapolis Civic & Commerce Ass'n · 247 U.S. 490 (1918)
• Anderson v. Abbott · 321 U.S. 349 (1944)
• Texas & Pacific Railway Co. v. Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Co. · 270 U.S. 266 (1926)
• New Haven Inclusion Cases · 399 U.S. 392 (1970)
• Schenley Distillers Corporation v. United States · 326 U.S. 432 (1946)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Liu v. SEC. & Exch. Comm'n · 591 U.S. 71 (2020)
• First National City Bank v. Banco Para El Comercio Exterior De Cuba · 462 U.S. 611 (1983)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).