Douglas Oil Company of California et al. v. Petrol Stops Northwest et al.
Decided April 18, 1979. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 77-1547 · 441 U.S. 211 (1979) · Cited 982 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 6–3.
Majority · 5
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Concurring · 1
- William Hubbs Rehnquist · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 3
- John Paul Stevens · filed a dissenting opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Warren Earl Burger
“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.
- Dennis v. United States · 384 U.S. 855 (1966)
- United States v. Procter & Gamble Co. · 356 U.S. 677 (1958)
- Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States · 360 U.S. 395 (1959)
- Brady v. Maryland · 373 U.S. 83 (1963)
- Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
- United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. · 310 U.S. 150 (1940)
- Costello v. United States · 350 U.S. 359 (1956)
- Cobbledick v. United States · 309 U.S. 323 (1940)
- Jencks v. United States · 353 U.S. 657 (1957)
- Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Wetzel · 424 U.S. 737 (1976)
- United States v. Johnson · 319 U.S. 503 (1943)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc. · 463 U.S. 418 (1983)
- Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of Cal., County of Riverside · 478 U.S. 1 (1986)
- United States v. Baggot · 463 U.S. 476 (1983)
- University of Pennsylvania v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 493 U.S. 182 (1990)
- Butterworth v. Smith · 494 U.S. 624 (1990)
- Rehberg v. Paulk · 566 U.S. 356 (2012)
- Stringfellow v. Concerned Neighbors in Action · 480 U.S. 370 (1987)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
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).