Comcast Corp. v. National Assn. of African-American Owned Media

Decided March 23, 2020. Neil M. Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 18-1171 · 589 U.S. 327 (2020) · Cited 1,062 times

Holding

A plaintiff who sues for racial discrimination in contracting under 42 U. S. C. §1981 bears the burden of showing that race was a but-for cause of the plaintiff’s injury, and that burden remains constant over the life of the lawsuit.

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. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

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.

• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. · 392 U.S. 409 (1968)
• Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. · 557 U.S. 167 (2009)
• CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries · 553 U.S. 442 (2008)
• Ashcroft v. Iqbal · 556 U.S. 662 (2009)
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine · 450 U.S. 248 (1981)
• Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc. · 421 U.S. 454 (1975)
• General Building Contractors Assn., Inc. v. Pennsylvania · 458 U.S. 375 (1982)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Russello v. United States · 464 U.S. 16 (1983)
• United States Postal Service Board of Governors v. Aikens · 460 U.S. 711 (1983)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Furnco Construction Corp. v. Waters · 438 U.S. 567 (1978)
• Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores · 421 U.S. 723 (1975)
• Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo · 544 U.S. 336 (2005)
• Jett v. Dallas Independent School District · 491 U.S. 701 (1989)
• Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa · 539 U.S. 90 (2003)
• Cutter v. Wilkinson · 544 U.S. 709 (2005)
• Runyon v. McCrary · 427 U.S. 160 (1976)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Rivers v. Roadway Express, Inc. · 511 U.S. 298 (1994)
• City of Los Angeles Department of Water v. Manhart · 435 U.S. 702 (1978)
• Buchanan v. Warley · 245 U.S. 60 (1916)
• Ziglar v. Abbasi · 582 U.S. 120 (2017)

Cited by

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

• Babb v. Wilkie · 589 U.S. 399 (2020)
• Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services · 605 U.S. 303 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2020). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).