Middlesex County Sewerage Authority et al. v. National Sea Clammers Association

Decided June 25, 1981. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 79-1711 · 453 U.S. 1 (1981) · Cited 1,562 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“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.

• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Texas & Pacific Railway Co. v. Rigsby · 241 U.S. 33 (1916)
• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• City of Milwaukee v. Illinois · 451 U.S. 304 (1981)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis · 444 U.S. 11 (1979)
• Illinois v. City of Milwaukee · 406 U.S. 91 (1972)
• Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington · 442 U.S. 560 (1979)
• California v. Sierra Club · 451 U.S. 287 (1981)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Transport Workers Union · 451 U.S. 77 (1981)
• Carlson v. Green · 446 U.S. 14 (1980)
• Texas Industries, Inc. v. Radcliff Materials, Inc. · 451 U.S. 630 (1981)
• Environmental Protection Agency v. California Ex Rel. State Water Resources Control Board · 426 U.S. 200 (1976)
• Universities Research Assn., Inc. v. Coutu · 450 U.S. 754 (1981)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• Chapman v. Houston Welfare Rights Organization · 441 U.S. 600 (1979)
• J. I. Case Co. v. Borak · 377 U.S. 426 (1964)
• Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. v. Northwestern Public Service Co. · 341 U.S. 246 (1951)

Cited by

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

• City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams · 544 U.S. 113 (2005)
• Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Curran · 456 U.S. 353 (1982)
• Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion Cty. v. Talevski · 599 U.S. 166 (2023)
• Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee · 555 U.S. 246 (2009)
• Wilder v. Virginia Hospital Assn. · 496 U.S. 498 (1990)
• Gonzaga University v. Doe · 536 U.S. 273 (2002)
• Blessing v. Freestone · 520 U.S. 329 (1997)
• Wright v. City of Roanoke Redevelopment & Housing Authority · 479 U.S. 418 (1987)
• Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles · 493 U.S. 103 (1989)
• Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson Ex Rel. Thompson · 478 U.S. 804 (1986)
• Jett v. Dallas Independent School District · 491 U.S. 701 (1989)
• Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo · 456 U.S. 305 (1982)
• Smith v. Robinson · 468 U.S. 992 (1984)
• Meghrig v. KFC Western, Inc. · 516 U.S. 479 (1996)
• Daily Income Fund, Inc. v. Fox · 464 U.S. 523 (1984)
• Jackson Transit Authority v. Local Division 1285, Amalgamated Transit Union · 457 U.S. 15 (1982)
• Harlow v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 800 (1982)
• United States v. Mitchell · 463 U.S. 206 (1983)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance v. Russell · 473 U.S. 134 (1985)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• Livadas v. Bradshaw · 512 U.S. 107 (1994)
• Nixon v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 731 (1982)
• Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc. · 484 U.S. 49 (1987)
• Blue Shield of Va. v. McCready · 457 U.S. 465 (1982)
• Thompson v. Thompson · 484 U.S. 174 (1988)
• Suter v. Artist M. · 503 U.S. 347 (1992)
• Countyof Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of NY · 470 U.S. 226 (1985)
• United States v. Wells · 519 U.S. 482 (1997)
• Guardians Assn. v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of New York City · 463 U.S. 582 (1983)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).