Delcostello v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters et al.

Decided June 8, 1983. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-2386 · 462 U.S. 151 (1983) · Cited 3,153 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 7–2.

“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.

• Vaca v. Sipes · 386 U.S. 171 (1967)
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America v. Hoosier Cardinal Corp. · 383 U.S. 696 (1966)
• United Parcel Service, Inc. v. Mitchell · 451 U.S. 56 (1981)
• Holmberg v. Armbrecht · 327 U.S. 392 (1946)
• Hines v. Anchor Motor Freight, Inc. · 424 U.S. 554 (1976)
• Bowen v. United States Postal Service · 459 U.S. 212 (1983)
• McAllister v. Magnolia Petroleum Co. · 357 U.S. 221 (1958)
• Humphrey v. Moore · 375 U.S. 335 (1964)
• Campbell v. Haverhill · 155 U.S. 610 (1895)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson · 404 U.S. 97 (1971)
• Occidental Life Insurance v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 432 U.S. 355 (1977)
• Clayton v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers · 451 U.S. 679 (1981)
• United States v. Little Lake Misere Land Co. · 412 U.S. 580 (1973)
• Czosek v. O'MARA · 397 U.S. 25 (1970)
• United Steelworkers v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co. · 363 U.S. 574 (1960)
• United Steelworkers v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp. · 363 U.S. 593 (1960)
• Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc. · 421 U.S. 454 (1975)
• Guaranty Trust Co. v. York · 326 U.S. 99 (1945)
• Commissioner v. Estate of Bosch · 387 U.S. 456 (1967)
• Runyon v. McCrary · 427 U.S. 160 (1976)
• Local 174, Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers v. Lucas Flour Co. · 369 U.S. 95 (1962)
• Republic Steel Corp. v. Maddox · 379 U.S. 650 (1965)
• Steele v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad · 323 U.S. 192 (1944)
• W. R. Grace & Co. v. Local Union 759, International Union of the United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum & Plastic Workers · 461 U.S. 757 (1983)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman · 345 U.S. 330 (1953)
• Smith v. Evening News Assn. · 371 U.S. 195 (1962)
• Board of Comm'rs of Jackson Cty. v. United States · 308 U.S. 343 (1939)
• Local Lodge No. 1424, International Ass'n of MacHinists v. National Labor Relations Board · 362 U.S. 411 (1960)
• Association of Westinghouse Salaried Employees v. Westinghouse Electric Corp. · 348 U.S. 437 (1955)

Cited by

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

• Reed v. United Transportation Union · 488 U.S. 319 (1989)
• Agency Holding Corp. v. Malley-Duff & Associates, Inc. · 483 U.S. 143 (1987)
• Lampf, Pleva, Lipkind, Prupis & Petigrow v. Gilbertson · 501 U.S. 350 (1991)
• North Star Steel Co. v. Thomas · 515 U.S. 29 (1995)
• Chauffeurs, Teamsters & Helpers Local No. 391 v. Terry · 494 U.S. 558 (1990)
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Hechler · 481 U.S. 851 (1987)
• West v. Conrail · 481 U.S. 35 (1987)
• Burnett v. Grattan · 468 U.S. 42 (1984)
• Stewart Organization, Inc. v. Ricoh Corp. · 487 U.S. 22 (1988)
• Wilson v. Garcia · 471 U.S. 261 (1985)
• Musick, Peeler & Garrett v. Employers Ins. of Wausau · 508 U.S. 286 (1993)
• Kamen v. Kemper Financial Services, Inc. · 500 U.S. 90 (1991)
• United States v. Locke · 471 U.S. 84 (1985)
• Countyof Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of NY · 470 U.S. 226 (1985)
• United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO-CLC v. Rawson · 495 U.S. 362 (1990)
• Klehr v. A. O. Smith Corp. · 521 U.S. 179 (1997)
• 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett · 556 U.S. 247 (2009)
• Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran · 536 U.S. 355 (2002)
• Breininger v. Sheet Metal Workers International Ass'n Local Union No. 6 · 493 U.S. 67 (1989)
• South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc. · 476 U.S. 498 (1986)

Official text

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

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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).