California et al. v. Arc America Corp. et al.

Decided April 18, 1989. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-1862 · 490 U.S. 93 (1989) · Cited 472 times

Holding

The rule limiting federal antitrust recoveries to direct purchasers does not prevent indirect purchasers from recovering damages flowing from state antitrust law violations.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–0.

“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.

• Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois · 431 U.S. 720 (1977)
• Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul · 373 U.S. 132 (1963)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• United Mine Workers of America v. Gibbs · 383 U.S. 715 (1966)
• Associated General Contractors of California, Inc. v. California State Council of Carpenters · 459 U.S. 519 (1983)
• Hines v. Davidowitz · 312 U.S. 52 (1941)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Brunswick Corp. v. Pueblo Bowl-O-Mat, Inc. · 429 U.S. 477 (1977)
• Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation & Development Commission · 461 U.S. 190 (1983)
• Hillsborough County v. Automated Medical Laboratories, Inc. · 471 U.S. 707 (1985)
• Hanover Shoe, Inc. v. United Shoe MacHinery Corp. · 392 U.S. 481 (1968)
• Exxon Corp. v. Governor of Maryland · 437 U.S. 117 (1978)
• Blue Shield of Va. v. McCready · 457 U.S. 465 (1982)
• Watson v. Buck · 313 U.S. 387 (1941)
• Cantor v. Detroit Edison Co. · 428 U.S. 579 (1976)
• Puerto Rico v. Shell Co. (PR), Ltd. · 302 U.S. 253 (1937)
• California v. Zook · 336 U.S. 725 (1949)

Cited by

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

• Oneok, Inc. v. Learjet, Inc. · 575 U.S. 373 (2015)
• Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
• Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council · 530 U.S. 363 (2000)
• Kansas v. UtiliCorp United Inc. · 497 U.S. 199 (1990)
• English v. General Electric Co. · 496 U.S. 72 (1990)
• United States v. Locke · 529 U.S. 89 (2000)
• California v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission · 495 U.S. 490 (1990)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1989). 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).