G. Russell Chambers v. Nasco, Inc.

Decided June 6, 1991. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 90-256 · 501 U.S. 32 (1991) · Cited 6,250 times

Holding

The District Court properly invoked its inherent power in assessing as a sanction for Chambers' bad-faith conduct the attorney's fees and related expenses paid by NASCO.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Link v. Wabash Railroad · 370 U.S. 626 (1962)
• Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society · 421 U.S. 240 (1975)
• Roadway Express, Inc. v. Piper · 447 U.S. 752 (1980)
• Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp. · 496 U.S. 384 (1990)
• Hutto v. Finney · 437 U.S. 678 (1978)
• Societe Internationale Pour Participations Industrielles Et Commerciales, S. A. v. Rogers · 357 U.S. 197 (1958)
• Young v. United States Ex Rel. Vuitton Et Fils S. A. · 481 U.S. 787 (1987)
• Ex Parte Robinson · 86 U.S. 505 (1874)
• Hanna v. Plumer · 380 U.S. 460 (1965)
• Hall v. Cole · 412 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Bank of Nova Scotia v. United States · 487 U.S. 250 (1988)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Hazel-Atlas Glass Co. v. Hartford-Empire Co. · 322 U.S. 238 (1944)
• Business Guides, Inc. v. Chromatic Communications Enterprises, Inc. · 498 U.S. 533 (1991)
• Toledo Scale Co. v. Computing Scale Co. · 261 U.S. 399 (1923)
• Ex Parte Burr · 22 U.S. 529 (1824)
• People of Sioux County v. National Surety Co. · 276 U.S. 238 (1928)
• Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo · 456 U.S. 305 (1982)
• Pennsylvania v. Delaware Valley Citizens' Council for Clean Air · 478 U.S. 546 (1986)
• F. D. Rich Co. v. United States Ex Rel. Industrial Lumber Co. · 417 U.S. 116 (1974)
• Fleischmann Distilling Corp. v. Maier Brewing Co. · 386 U.S. 714 (1967)
• The United States v. Hudson and Goodwin · 11 U.S. 32 (1812)
• Pavelic & LeFlore v. Marvel Entertainment Group, Div. of Cadence Industries Corp. · 493 U.S. 120 (1989)
• Universal Oil Products Co. v. Root Refining Co. · 328 U.S. 575 (1946)
• Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert · 330 U.S. 501 (1947)
• Illinois v. Allen · 397 U.S. 337 (1970)
• Guaranty Trust Co. v. York · 326 U.S. 99 (1945)
• Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc. · 390 U.S. 400 (1968)
• Lanzetta v. New Jersey · 306 U.S. 451 (1939)
• Sprague v. Ticonic National Bank · 307 U.S. 161 (1939)

Cited by

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

• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger · 581 U.S. 101 (2017)
• Law v. Siegel · 571 U.S. 415 (2014)
• Dietz v. Bouldin · 579 U.S. 40 (2016)
• Carlisle v. United States · 517 U.S. 416 (1996)
• Taggart v. Lorenzen · 587 U.S. 554 (2019)
• State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. United States Ex Rel. Rigsby · 580 U.S. 26 (2016)
• Marx v. General Revenue Corp. · 568 U.S. 371 (2013)
• Degen v. United States · 517 U.S. 820 (1996)
• Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America · 511 U.S. 375 (1994)
• Clinton v. Jones · 520 U.S. 681 (1997)
• Missouri v. Jenkins · 515 U.S. 70 (1995)
• United States v. Tsarnaev · 595 U.S. 302 (2022)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1991). 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).