Heckler, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Community Health Services of Crawford County, Inc., et al.
Decided May 21, 1984. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 83-56 · 467 U.S. 51 (1984) · Cited 1,449 times
Holding
The Government is not estopped from recovering the funds in question from respondent, since respondent has not demonstrated that the traditional elements of an estoppel are present with respect to either its change in position or its reliance on Travelers' advice.
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 9–0.
Majority · 7
- John Paul Stevens · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Concurring · 2
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Hubbs Rehnquist · filed a concurring opinion
“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.
- Moser v. United States · 341 U.S. 41 (1951)
- Schweiker v. Hansen · 450 U.S. 785 (1981)
- Federal Crop Ins. Corp. v. Merrill · 332 U.S. 380 (1947)
- United States Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Hibi · 414 U.S. 5 (1973)
- Montana v. Kennedy · 366 U.S. 308 (1961)
- Utah Power & Light Co. v. United States · 243 U.S. 389 (1917)
- Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Miranda · 459 U.S. 14 (1982)
- United States v. Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corp. · 411 U.S. 655 (1973)
- United States v. Stewart · 311 U.S. 60 (1940)
- Sutton v. United States · 256 U.S. 575 (1921)
- Wilber Nat. Bank of Oneonta v. United States · 294 U.S. 120 (1935)
- Giglio v. United States · 405 U.S. 150 (1972)
- Santobello v. New York · 404 U.S. 257 (1971)
- Securities & Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corp. · 332 U.S. 194 (1947)
- National Labor Relations Board v. Bell Aerospace Co. · 416 U.S. 267 (1974)
- Kaiser Aetna v. United States · 444 U.S. 164 (1979)
- Automobile Club of Mich. v. Commissioner · 353 U.S. 180 (1957)
- Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Wichita Board of Trade · 412 U.S. 800 (1973)
- Rock Island, Arkansas & Louisiana Railroad v. United States · 254 U.S. 141 (1920)
- United States v. California · 332 U.S. 19 (1947)
- United States v. City & County of San Francisco · 310 U.S. 16 (1940)
- St. Regis Paper Co. v. United States · 368 U.S. 208 (1961)
- Gibbons v. United States · 75 U.S. 269 (1869)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Office of Personnel Management v. Richmond · 496 U.S. 414 (1990)
- Lyng v. Payne · 476 U.S. 926 (1986)
- United States v. Locke · 471 U.S. 84 (1985)
- Bennett v. Kentucky Department of Education · 470 U.S. 656 (1985)
- New Hampshire v. Maine · 532 U.S. 742 (2001)
- Thomas Jefferson University v. Shalala · 512 U.S. 504 (1994)
- United States v. Winstar Corp. · 518 U.S. 839 (1996)
- Southwest Marine, Inc. v. Gizoni · 502 U.S. 81 (1991)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1984). 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).