Library of Congress et al. v. Shaw

Decided July 1, 1986. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 85-54 · 478 U.S. 310 (1986) · Cited 871 times

Holding

The no-interest rule applies here so as to preclude the award of increased compensation to respondent's counsel for the delay in receiving payment for his services.

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.

• Boston Sand and Gravel Co. v. United States · 278 U.S. 41 (1928)
• United States v. N. Y. Rayon Importing Co. · 329 U.S. 654 (1947)
• Franchise Tax Board v. United States Postal Service · 467 U.S. 512 (1984)
• United States v. Alcea Band of Tillamooks · 341 U.S. 48 (1951)
• Standard Oil Co. of NJ v. United States · 267 U.S. 76 (1925)
• Tillson v. United States · 100 U.S. 43 (1879)
• Hensley v. Eckerhart · 461 U.S. 424 (1983)
• United States v. Sherwood · 312 U.S. 584 (1941)
• Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 434 U.S. 412 (1978)
• Lehman v. Nakshian · 453 U.S. 156 (1981)
• Ruckelshaus v. Sierra Club · 463 U.S. 680 (1983)
• Chandler v. Roudebush · 425 U.S. 840 (1976)
• Seaboard Air Line Railway Co. v. United States · 261 U.S. 299 (1923)
• McMahon v. United States · 342 U.S. 25 (1951)
• United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians · 448 U.S. 371 (1980)
• Laird v. Nelms · 406 U.S. 797 (1972)
• Eastern Transportation Co. v. United States · 272 U.S. 675 (1927)
• United States v. Norwegian Barque Thekla · 266 U.S. 328 (1924)
• United States Ex Rel. Angarica v. Bayard · 127 U.S. 251 (1888)
• Albrecht v. United States · 329 U.S. 599 (1947)

Cited by

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

• Missouri v. Jenkins Ex Rel. Agyei · 491 U.S. 274 (1989)
• Loeffler v. Frank · 486 U.S. 549 (1988)
• Irwin v. Department of Veterans Affairs · 498 U.S. 89 (1990)
• Henderson v. United States · 517 U.S. 654 (1996)
• Landgraf v. USI Film Products · 511 U.S. 244 (1994)
• United States v. Nordic Village, Inc. · 503 U.S. 30 (1992)
• Lane v. Pena · 518 U.S. 187 (1996)
• Office of Personnel Management v. Richmond · 496 U.S. 414 (1990)
• United States v. Dalm · 494 U.S. 596 (1990)
• Scarborough v. Principi · 541 U.S. 401 (2004)
• Ardestani v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 502 U.S. 129 (1991)
• Department of the Army v. Blue Fox, Inc. · 525 U.S. 255 (1999)
• West Virginia v. United States · 479 U.S. 305 (1987)
• United States v. Texas · 507 U.S. 529 (1993)
• United States v. IDAHO Ex Rel. DIRECTOR, IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES · 508 U.S. 1 (1993)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1986). 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).