Norfolk & Western Railway Co. v. Liepelt, Administratrix

Decided February 19, 1980. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 78-1323 · 444 U.S. 490 (1980) · Cited 436 times

Holding

In a wrongful-death action brought under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) in an Illinois court, the trial court erred in excluding evidence offered by petitioner-defendant to show the effect of income taxes on the decedent's estimated future earnings, and in refusing petitioner's requested jury instruction that "your award will not be subject to any income taxes, and you should not consider such taxes in fixing the amount of your award." Ill.App.3d 653, 19 Ill.Dec.

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 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.

• Michigan Central Railroad v. Vreeland · 227 U.S. 59 (1913)
• Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. v. Kelly · 241 U.S. 485 (1916)
• Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society · 421 U.S. 240 (1975)
• Dice v. Akron, Canton & Youngstown Railroad · 342 U.S. 359 (1952)
• Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co. · 348 U.S. 426 (1955)
• Brady v. Southern Railway Co. · 320 U.S. 476 (1944)
• Brown v. Western R. Co. of Ala. · 338 U.S. 294 (1949)

Cited by

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

• Gulf Offshore Co. v. Mobil Oil Corp. · 453 U.S. 473 (1981)
• Lukhard v. Reed · 481 U.S. 368 (1987)
• Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. v. Pfeifer · 462 U.S. 523 (1983)
• Monessen Southwestern Railway Co. v. Morgan · 486 U.S. 330 (1988)
• Randall v. Loftsgaarden · 478 U.S. 647 (1986)
• St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co. v. Dickerson · 470 U.S. 409 (1985)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1980). 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).