Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles

Decided December 5, 1989. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-840 · 493 U.S. 103 (1989) · Cited 756 times

Holding

Petitioner is entitled to maintain a 1983 action for compensatory damages.

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 6–3.

“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.

• Lodge 76, International Ass'n of MacHinists & Aerospace Workers v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission · 427 U.S. 132 (1976)
• Wright v. City of Roanoke Redevelopment & Housing Authority · 479 U.S. 418 (1987)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Chapman v. Houston Welfare Rights Organization · 441 U.S. 600 (1979)
• Smith v. Robinson · 468 U.S. 992 (1984)
• San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon · 359 U.S. 236 (1959)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Insurance Agents' International Union · 361 U.S. 477 (1960)
• Rosado v. Wyman · 397 U.S. 397 (1970)
• Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Jacksonville Terminal Co. · 394 U.S. 369 (1969)
• New York Telephone Co. v. New York State Department of Labor · 440 U.S. 519 (1979)
• Brown v. Hotel & Restaurant Employees & Bartenders International Union Local 54 · 468 U.S. 491 (1984)
• Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles · 475 U.S. 608 (1986)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Preiser v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 475 (1973)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Haguer v. Committee for Industrial Organization · 307 U.S. 496 (1939)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Felder v. Casey · 487 U.S. 131 (1988)
• United States v. Price · 383 U.S. 787 (1966)
• Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. San Diego County District Council of Carpenters · 436 U.S. 180 (1978)
• Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co. · 435 U.S. 151 (1978)
• Guardians Assn. v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of New York City · 463 U.S. 582 (1983)
• American Ship Building Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 380 U.S. 300 (1965)
• City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, Inc. · 411 U.S. 624 (1973)
• Swift & Co. v. Wickham · 382 U.S. 111 (1965)
• International Longshoremen's Ass'n v. Davis · 476 U.S. 380 (1986)
• Belknap, Inc. v. Hale · 463 U.S. 491 (1983)

Cited by

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

• Dennis v. Higgins · 498 U.S. 439 (1991)
• Livadas v. Bradshaw · 512 U.S. 107 (1994)
• Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc. · 575 U.S. 320 (2015)
• Suter v. Artist M. · 503 U.S. 347 (1992)
• Blessing v. Freestone · 520 U.S. 329 (1997)
• Wilder v. Virginia Hospital Assn. · 496 U.S. 498 (1990)
• City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams · 544 U.S. 113 (2005)
• Building & Construction Trades Council of the Metropolitan District v. Associated Builders & Contractors of Massachusetts/Rhode Island, Inc. · 507 U.S. 218 (1993)
• Heck v. Humphrey · 512 U.S. 477 (1994)
• Gonzaga University v. Doe · 536 U.S. 273 (2002)
• Maryland v. Craig · 497 U.S. 836 (1990)
• Chavez v. Martinez · 538 U.S. 760 (2003)
• City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd. · 526 U.S. 687 (1999)
• Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion Cty. v. Talevski · 599 U.S. 166 (2023)
• National Private Truck Council, Inc. v. Oklahoma Tax Comm'n · 515 U.S. 582 (1995)
• Chamber of Commerce of United States v. Brown · 554 U.S. 60 (2008)
• Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic · 606 U.S. 357 (2025)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1989). 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).