Supreme Court of the United States / October Term 1991

Kenneth Hilton v. South Carolina Public Railways Commission

Decided December 15, 1991. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 90-848 · 502 U.S. 197 (1991) · Cited 335 times

Holding

FELA creates a cause of action against a state-owned railroad, enforceable in state court.

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 6–2.

“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.

Welch v. Texas Department of Highways & Public Transportation · 483 U.S. 468 (1987)
Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
Parden v. Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks Department · 377 U.S. 184 (1964)
Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. v. Feeney · 495 U.S. 299 (1990)
Dellmuth v. Muth · 491 U.S. 223 (1989)
Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
Howlett Ex Rel. Howlett v. Rose · 496 U.S. 356 (1990)
United Transportation Union v. Long Island Rail Road · 455 U.S. 678 (1982)
Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 465 U.S. 89 (1984)
Hafer v. Melo · 502 U.S. 21 (1991)
Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
United States v. Bass · 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
Vasquez v. Hillery · 474 U.S. 254 (1986)
Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co. · 285 U.S. 393 (1932)
Arizona v. Rumsey · 467 U.S. 203 (1984)
Nevada v. Hall · 440 U.S. 410 (1979)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wyoming · 460 U.S. 226 (1983)
Sproles v. Binford · 286 U.S. 374 (1932)
Petty v. Tennessee-Missouri Bridge Commission · 359 U.S. 275 (1959)
United States v. California · 297 U.S. 175 (1936)
Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois · 118 U.S. 557 (1886)
California v. Taylor · 353 U.S. 553 (1957)

Cited by

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

Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
Hess v. Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation · 513 U.S. 30 (1994)
Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees · 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States · 552 U.S. 130 (2008)
14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett · 556 U.S. 247 (2009)
Boumediene v. Bush · 553 U.S. 723 (2008)
Bray v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic · 506 U.S. 263 (1993)
Clark v. Martinez · 543 U.S. 371 (2005)
Woodford v. Garceau · 538 U.S. 202 (2003)
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
Quill Corp. v. North Dakota Ex Rel. Heitkamp · 504 U.S. 298 (1992)
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
Cleveland v. United States · 531 U.S. 12 (2000)
United States v. Cleveland Indians Baseball Co. · 532 U.S. 200 (2001)
Allied-Signal, Inc. Ex Rel. Bendix Corp. v. Director, Division of Taxation · 504 U.S. 768 (1992)
Hubbard v. United States · 514 U.S. 695 (1995)
Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College · 600 U.S. 181 (2023)
Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board · 528 U.S. 320 (2000)
Kurns v. Railroad Friction Products Corp. · 565 U.S. 625 (2012)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1991). 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).