Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund et al. v. Central Transport, Inc., et al.

Decided June 19, 1985. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 82-2157 · 472 U.S. 559 (1985) · Cited 573 times

Holding

Respondents must allow petitioners to conduct the requested audit.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Schneider Moving & Storage Co. v. Robbins · 466 U.S. 364 (1984)
• Nachman Corp. v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation · 446 U.S. 359 (1980)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Amax Coal Co. · 453 U.S. 322 (1981)
• Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. · 463 U.S. 85 (1983)
• Barrentine v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc. · 450 U.S. 728 (1981)
• Allied Chemical & Alkali Workers of America, Local Union No. 1 v. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. · 404 U.S. 157 (1971)
• Lewis v. Benedict Coal Corp. · 361 U.S. 459 (1960)

Cited by

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

• Varity Corp. v. Howe · 516 U.S. 489 (1996)
• Thole v. U. S. Bank N. A. · 590 U.S. 538 (2020)
• Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Glenn · 554 U.S. 105 (2008)
• Tibble v. Edison Int'l · 575 U.S. 523 (2015)
• Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch · 489 U.S. 101 (1989)
• Pegram v. Herdrich · 530 U.S. 211 (2000)
• Conkright v. Frommert · 559 U.S. 506 (2010)
• Cunningham v. Cornell Univ. · 604 U.S. 693 (2025)
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance v. Russell · 473 U.S. 134 (1985)
• Mertens v. Hewitt Associates · 508 U.S. 248 (1993)
• United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe · 537 U.S. 465 (2003)
• United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation · 564 U.S. 162 (2011)
• Howard Delivery Service, Inc. v. Zurich American Insurance · 547 U.S. 651 (2006)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). 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).