H. J. Inc. et al. v. Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. et al.

Decided June 26, 1989. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-1252 · 492 U.S. 229 (1989) · Cited 2,771 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 9–0.

“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.

• Sedima, S. P. R. L. v. Imrex Co. · 473 U.S. 479 (1985)
• Russello v. United States · 464 U.S. 16 (1983)
• United States v. Turkette · 452 U.S. 576 (1981)
• Hishon v. King & Spalding · 467 U.S. 69 (1984)
• Richards v. United States · 369 U.S. 1 (1962)
• Federal Communications Commission v. American Broadcasting Co. · 347 U.S. 284 (1954)

Cited by

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

• Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly · 550 U.S. 544 (2007)
• New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira · 586 U.S. 105 (2019)
• Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc. · 527 U.S. 471 (1999)
• Boyle v. United States · 556 U.S. 938 (2009)
• Rotella v. Wood · 528 U.S. 549 (2000)
• Tafflin v. Levitt · 493 U.S. 455 (1990)
• Anza v. Ideal Steel Supply Corp. · 547 U.S. 451 (2006)
• Kolstad v. American Dental Assn. · 527 U.S. 526 (1999)
• Bridge v. Phoenix Bond & Indemnity Co. · 553 U.S. 639 (2008)
• National Organization for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler · 510 U.S. 249 (1994)
• Gonzales v. Oregon · 546 U.S. 243 (2006)
• Maislin Industries, U. S., Inc. v. Primary Steel, Inc. · 497 U.S. 116 (1990)
• Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn · 604 U.S. 593 (2025)

Official text

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

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William Joseph Brennan 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).