Karen Livadas v. Victoria Bradshaw, California Labor Commissioner

Decided June 13, 1994. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 92-1920 · 512 U.S. 107 (1994) · Cited 1,093 times

Holding

The California rule of decision, rather than a federal rule, governs petitioner’s tort liability.

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.

“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.

• Lingle v. Norge Division of Magic Chef, Inc. · 486 U.S. 399 (1988)
• Nash v. Florida Industrial Commission · 389 U.S. 235 (1967)
• Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck · 471 U.S. 202 (1985)
• Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles · 493 U.S. 103 (1989)
• Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp. · 500 U.S. 20 (1991)
• Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Massachusetts · 471 U.S. 724 (1985)
• Fort Halifax Packing Co. v. Coyne · 482 U.S. 1 (1987)
• Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles · 475 U.S. 608 (1986)
• Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. · 415 U.S. 36 (1974)
• United Steelworkers v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co. · 363 U.S. 574 (1960)
• New York Telephone Co. v. New York State Department of Labor · 440 U.S. 519 (1979)
• San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon · 359 U.S. 236 (1959)
• Local 174, Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers v. Lucas Flour Co. · 369 U.S. 95 (1962)
• Republic Steel Corp. v. Maddox · 379 U.S. 650 (1965)
• Avco Corp. v. Aero Lodge No. 735, International Ass'n of MacHinists & Aerospace Workers · 390 U.S. 557 (1968)
• Metropolitan Edison Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 460 U.S. 693 (1983)
• Brown v. Hotel & Restaurant Employees & Bartenders International Union Local 54 · 468 U.S. 491 (1984)
• Hill v. Florida Ex Rel. Watson · 325 U.S. 538 (1945)
• United States v. Leon · 468 U.S. 897 (1984)
• Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams · 482 U.S. 386 (1987)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills of Ala. · 353 U.S. 448 (1957)
• Davis v. Scherer · 468 U.S. 183 (1984)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Perry v. Thomas · 482 U.S. 483 (1987)
• Charles Dowd Box Co. v. Courtney · 368 U.S. 502 (1962)
• Wright v. City of Roanoke Redevelopment & Housing Authority · 479 U.S. 418 (1987)

Cited by

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

• Chamber of Commerce of United States v. Brown · 554 U.S. 60 (2008)
• Blessing v. Freestone · 520 U.S. 329 (1997)
• Garcetti v. Ceballos · 547 U.S. 410 (2006)
• Wright v. Universal Maritime Service Corp. · 525 U.S. 70 (1998)
• City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams · 544 U.S. 113 (2005)
• 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett · 556 U.S. 247 (2009)
• Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic · 606 U.S. 357 (2025)

Official text

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

Explore from here

David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1994). 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).