Huffman et al. v. Pursue, Ltd.

Decided March 18, 1975. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-296 · 420 U.S. 592 (1975) · Cited 1,716 times

Holding

Under the circumstances, the principles of Younger are applicable even though the state proceeding is civil in nature, and the District Court should have applied the tests laid down in Younger in determining whether to proceed to the merits and should not have entertained the action unless appellee established that early intervention was justified under the exceptions recognized in Younger, where the state proceeding is conducted with an intent to harass or in bad faith, or the challenged statute is flagrantly and patently unconstitutional.

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.

• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Mitchum v. Foster · 407 U.S. 225 (1972)
• Fenner v. Boykin · 271 U.S. 240 (1926)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Sosna v. Iowa · 419 U.S. 393 (1975)
• Steffel v. Thompson · 415 U.S. 452 (1974)
• Dombrowski v. Pfister · 380 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Zwickler v. Koota · 389 U.S. 241 (1967)
• Miller v. California · 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
• England v. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners · 375 U.S. 411 (1964)
• SAMUELS Et Al. v. MACKELL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF QUEENS COUNTY, Et Al. · 401 U.S. 66 (1971)
• Douglas v. City of Jeannette · 319 U.S. 157 (1943)
• Stefanelli v. Minard · 342 U.S. 117 (1951)
• Spielman Motor Sales Co. v. Dodge · 295 U.S. 89 (1935)
• Preiser v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 475 (1973)
• Near v. Minnesota Ex Rel. Olson · 283 U.S. 697 (1931)
• Gibson v. Berryhill · 411 U.S. 564 (1973)
• Perez v. Ledesma · 401 U.S. 82 (1971)
• Lake Carriers' Assn. v. MacMullan · 406 U.S. 498 (1972)
• Watson v. Buck · 313 U.S. 387 (1941)
• Boyle v. Landry · 401 U.S. 77 (1971)
• Toucey v. New York Life Insurance · 314 U.S. 118 (1941)
• Beal v. Missouri Pacific R. Corp. · 312 U.S. 45 (1941)
• Dyson v. Stein · 401 U.S. 200 (1971)
• Byrne v. Karalexis · 401 U.S. 216 (1971)
• Bacon v. Rutland Railroad · 232 U.S. 134 (1914)
• City Bank Farmers Trust Co. v. Schnader · 291 U.S. 24 (1934)

Cited by

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

• Juidice v. Vail · 430 U.S. 327 (1977)
• Trainor v. Hernandez · 431 U.S. 434 (1977)
• Moore v. Sims · 442 U.S. 415 (1979)
• Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco Inc. · 481 U.S. 1 (1987)
• Wooley v. Maynard · 430 U.S. 705 (1977)
• New Orleans Public Service, Inc. v. Council of City of New Orleans · 491 U.S. 350 (1989)
• Zablocki v. Redhail · 434 U.S. 374 (1978)
• Ohio Bureau of Employment Services v. Hodory · 431 U.S. 471 (1977)
• Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Ass'n · 457 U.S. 423 (1982)
• Moore v. City of East Cleveland · 431 U.S. 494 (1977)
• Hicks v. Miranda · 422 U.S. 332 (1975)
• Trump v. Vance · 591 U.S. 786 (2020)
• Ohio Civil Rights Commission v. Dayton Christian Schools, Inc. · 477 U.S. 619 (1986)
• Fair Assessment in Real Estate Assn., Inc. v. McNary · 454 U.S. 100 (1981)
• Vendo Co. v. Lektro-Vend Corp. · 433 U.S. 623 (1977)
• Colorado River Water Conservation District v. United States · 424 U.S. 800 (1976)
• Rizzo v. Goode · 423 U.S. 362 (1976)
• Allen v. McCurry · 449 U.S. 90 (1980)
• Davis v. Passman · 442 U.S. 228 (1979)
• Quackenbush v. Allstate Insurance · 517 U.S. 706 (1996)
• Patsy v. Board of Regents of Fla. · 457 U.S. 496 (1982)
• Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Justices of Boston Municipal Court v. Lydon · 466 U.S. 294 (1984)
• Arizona v. Manypenny · 451 U.S. 232 (1981)
• Webb v. County Board of Education · 471 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Ellis v. Dyson · 421 U.S. 426 (1975)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1975). 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).