Louisiana Public Service Commission v. Federal Communications Commission et al.

Decided May 27, 1986. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-871 · 476 U.S. 355 (1986) · Cited 914 times

Holding

Section 152(b) bars federal pre-emption of state regulation over depreciation of dual jurisdiction property for intrastate ratemaking purposes.

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 5–2.

“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.

• Smith v. Illinois Bell Telephone Co. · 282 U.S. 133 (1930)
• Hines v. Davidowitz · 312 U.S. 52 (1941)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. · 463 U.S. 85 (1983)
• Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul · 373 U.S. 132 (1963)
• City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. · 475 U.S. 41 (1986)
• Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. De La Cuesta · 458 U.S. 141 (1982)
• Jones v. Rath Packing Co. · 430 U.S. 519 (1977)
• Corning Glass Works v. Brennan · 417 U.S. 188 (1974)
• Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Products Corp. · 353 U.S. 222 (1957)
• Free v. Bland · 369 U.S. 663 (1962)
• Houston, East & West Texas Railway Co. v. United States · 234 U.S. 342 (1914)
• Capital Cities Cable, Inc. v. Crisp · 467 U.S. 691 (1984)
• City of Knoxville v. Knoxville Water Co. · 212 U.S. 1 (1909)
• United Rs. & Elec. Co. of Baltimore v. West · 280 U.S. 234 (1930)
• Louisiana Public Service Commission v. Federal Communications Commission · 476 U.S. 355 (1986)

Cited by

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

• At&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Board · 525 U.S. 366 (1999)
• Northwest Central Pipeline Corp. v. State Corporation Comm'n of Kan. · 489 U.S. 493 (1989)
• City of New York v. Federal Communications Commission · 486 U.S. 57 (1988)
• Global Crossing Telecommunications, Inc. v. Metrophones Telecommunications, Inc. · 550 U.S. 45 (2007)
• Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
• City of Arlington v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n · 569 U.S. 290 (2013)
• New York v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission · 535 U.S. 1 (2002)
• R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Durham County · 479 U.S. 130 (1986)
• Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. · 529 U.S. 861 (2000)
• Wardair Canada Inc. v. Florida Department of Revenue · 477 U.S. 1 (1986)
• Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co. · 537 U.S. 149 (2003)
• Puerto Rico Department of Consumer Affairs v. Isla Petroleum Corp. · 485 U.S. 495 (1988)
• Federal Election Comm'n v. Ted Cruz · 596 U.S. 289 (2022)

Official text

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

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William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

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).