Continental Oil Co. et al. v. Federal Power Commission

Decided May 1, 1968. John Marshall Harlan delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 90 · 390 U.S. 747 (1968) · Cited 1,042 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 7–1.

“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.

• Federal Power Commission v. Hope Natural Gas Co. · 320 U.S. 591 (1944)
• Bowles v. Willingham · 321 U.S. 503 (1944)
• Federal Power Commission v. Sierra Pacific Power Co. · 350 U.S. 348 (1956)
• United States & Interstate Commerce Commission v. Abilene & Southern Railway Co. · 265 U.S. 274 (1924)
• American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. · 387 U.S. 397 (1967)
• Wisconsin v. Federal Power Commission · 373 U.S. 294 (1963)
• Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Wisconsin · 347 U.S. 672 (1954)
• United Gas Improvement Co. v. Callery Properties, Inc. · 382 U.S. 223 (1965)
• National Broadcasting Co. v. United States · 319 U.S. 190 (1943)
• Federal Power Commission v. Natural Gas Pipeline Co. · 315 U.S. 575 (1942)
• United Gas Pipe Line Co. v. Mobile Gas Service Corp. · 350 U.S. 332 (1956)
• Tagg Bros. & Moorhead v. United States · 280 U.S. 420 (1930)
• Covington & Lexington Turnpike Road Co. v. Sandford · 164 U.S. 578 (1896)
• Federal Power Commission v. Tennessee Gas Transmission Co. · 371 U.S. 145 (1962)
• Nebbia v. New York · 291 U.S. 502 (1934)
• Munn v. Illinois · 94 U.S. 113 (1877)
• Phelps Dodge Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 313 U.S. 177 (1941)
• Bluefield Water Works & Improvement Co. v. Public Service Commission · 262 U.S. 679 (1923)
• Colorado Interstate Gas Co. v. Federal Power Commission · 324 U.S. 581 (1945)
• Atlantic Refining Co. v. Public Service Commission · 360 U.S. 378 (1959)
• American Trucking Assns., Inc. v. United States · 344 U.S. 298 (1953)
• Los Angeles Gas & Electric Corp. v. Railroad Commission · 289 U.S. 287 (1933)
• United States v. Corrick · 298 U.S. 435 (1936)
• Federal Power Commission v. Texaco Inc. · 377 U.S. 33 (1964)
• San Diego Land & Town Co. v. Jasper · 189 U.S. 439 (1903)
• New York v. United States · 331 U.S. 284 (1947)
• Illinois Natural Gas Co. v. Central Illinois Public Service Co. · 314 U.S. 498 (1942)
• Sunray Mid-Continent Oil Co. v. Federal Power Commission · 364 U.S. 137 (1960)
• Piedmont & Northern Railway Co. v. Interstate Commerce Commission · 286 U.S. 299 (1932)
• Hegeman Farms Corp. v. Baldwin · 293 U.S. 163 (1934)

Cited by

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

• Mobil Oil Corp. v. Federal Power Commission · 417 U.S. 283 (1974)
• Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. v. Public Util. Dist. No. 1 of Snohomish Cty. · 554 U.S. 527 (2008)
• Federal Power Commission v. Texaco Inc. · 417 U.S. 380 (1974)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Florida Power Corp. · 480 U.S. 245 (1987)
• Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast, Inc. v. United Distribution Cos. · 498 U.S. 211 (1991)
• Federal Power Commission v. Sunray DX Oil Co. · 391 U.S. 9 (1968)
• Pennell v. City of San Jose · 485 U.S. 1 (1988)
• Arkansas Louisiana Gas Co. v. Hall · 453 U.S. 571 (1981)
• Duquesne Light Co. v. Barasch · 488 U.S. 299 (1989)
• Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 529 U.S. 120 (2000)
• Global Crossing Telecommunications, Inc. v. Metrophones Telecommunications, Inc. · 550 U.S. 45 (2007)
• Hensley v. Eckerhart · 461 U.S. 424 (1983)
• Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Assn. of United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. · 463 U.S. 29 (1983)
• Withrow v. Larkin · 421 U.S. 35 (1975)
• Rust v. Sullivan · 500 U.S. 173 (1991)
• Thorpe v. Housing Authority of Durham · 393 U.S. 268 (1969)
• Weinberger v. Hynson, Westcott & Dunning, Inc. · 412 U.S. 609 (1973)
• United States v. Southwestern Cable Co. · 392 U.S. 157 (1968)
• Industrial Union Dept., AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute · 448 U.S. 607 (1980)
• E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. v. Train · 430 U.S. 112 (1977)
• United States v. Allegheny-Ludlum Steel Corp. · 406 U.S. 742 (1972)
• Federal Power Commission v. Louisiana Power & Light Co. · 406 U.S. 621 (1972)
• Verizon Communications Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 535 U.S. 467 (2002)
• American Paper Institute, Inc. v. American Electric Power Service Corp. · 461 U.S. 402 (1983)
• Federal Communications Commission v. WNCN Listeners Guild · 450 U.S. 582 (1981)
• Weinberger v. Bentex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. · 412 U.S. 645 (1973)
• Interstate Commerce Commission v. American Trucking Associations · 467 U.S. 354 (1984)

Official text

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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).