City of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, et al. v. Mark J. Abrams

Decided March 22, 2005. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 03-1601 · 544 U.S. 113 (2005) · Cited 452 times

Holding

An individual may not enforce § 332(c)(7)’s limitations on local zoning authority through a § 1983 action.

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.

• Smith v. Robinson · 468 U.S. 992 (1984)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Wilson v. Garcia · 471 U.S. 261 (1985)
• Blessing v. Freestone · 520 U.S. 329 (1997)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Wright v. City of Roanoke Redevelopment & Housing Authority · 479 U.S. 418 (1987)
• Gonzaga University v. Doe · 536 U.S. 273 (2002)
• Owens v. Okure · 488 U.S. 235 (1989)
• Great American Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Novotny · 442 U.S. 366 (1979)
• Jones v. R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co. · 541 U.S. 369 (2004)
• Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles · 493 U.S. 103 (1989)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society · 421 U.S. 240 (1975)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Wilder v. Virginia Hospital Assn. · 496 U.S. 498 (1990)
• Agency Holding Corp. v. Malley-Duff & Associates, Inc. · 483 U.S. 143 (1987)
• Livadas v. Bradshaw · 512 U.S. 107 (1994)
• Posadas v. National City Bank · 296 U.S. 497 (1936)
• Chisom v. Roemer · 501 U.S. 380 (1991)
• Harrison v. PPG Industries, Inc. · 446 U.S. 578 (1980)

Cited by

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

• Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion Cty. v. Talevski · 599 U.S. 166 (2023)
• Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee · 555 U.S. 246 (2009)
• City of Arlington v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n · 569 U.S. 290 (2013)
• EC Term of Years Trust v. United States · 550 U.S. 429 (2007)
• Garcetti v. Ceballos · 547 U.S. 410 (2006)
• Vega v. Tekoh · 597 U.S. 134 (2022)
• Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic · 606 U.S. 357 (2025)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2005). 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).