Norfolk & Western Railway Company et al. v. American Train Dispatchers' Association et al.

Decided March 19, 1991. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-1027 · 499 U.S. 117 (1991) · Cited 329 times

Holding

The 11341(a) exemption "from all other law" includes a carrier's legal obligations under a collective-bargaining agreement when necessary to carry out an ICC-approved transaction.

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.

• Schwabacher v. United States · 334 U.S. 182 (1948)
• United States v. Philadelphia National Bank · 374 U.S. 321 (1963)
• Interstate Commerce Commission v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers · 482 U.S. 270 (1987)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• United States v. Trans-Missouri Freight Assn. · 166 U.S. 290 (1897)
• Detroit & Toledo Shore Line Railroad v. United Transportation Union · 396 U.S. 142 (1969)
• United States v. Joint Traffic Assn. · 171 U.S. 505 (1898)
• United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. · 310 U.S. 150 (1940)
• Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. · 473 U.S. 788 (1985)
• Northern Pacific Railway Co. v. United States · 356 U.S. 1 (1958)
• Home Building & Loan Assn. v. Blaisdell · 290 U.S. 398 (1934)
• United States v. Borden Co. · 308 U.S. 188 (1939)
• Maher v. Roe · 432 U.S. 464 (1977)
• Bank of Columbia v. Okely · 17 U.S. 122 (1819)
• Schweiker v. Gray Panthers · 453 U.S. 34 (1981)
• Keogh v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co. · 260 U.S. 156 (1922)
• Silver v. New York Stock Exchange · 373 U.S. 341 (1963)
• Georgia v. Pennsylvania Railroad · 324 U.S. 439 (1945)
• Slocum v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad · 339 U.S. 239 (1950)
• Allen Bradley Co. v. Local Union No. 3, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers · 325 U.S. 797 (1945)
• United States v. Terminal Railroad Assn. of St. Louis · 224 U.S. 383 (1912)
• Pan American World Airways, Inc. v. United States · 371 U.S. 296 (1963)
• United States Alkali Export Ass'n v. United States · 325 U.S. 196 (1945)
• United States v. Radio Corp. of America · 358 U.S. 334 (1959)
• California v. Federal Power Commission · 369 U.S. 482 (1962)
• Burlington Northern Railroad v. Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes · 481 U.S. 429 (1987)
• Farmers & Merchants Bank of Monroe v. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond · 262 U.S. 649 (1923)
• Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Assn., Inc. v. United States · 362 U.S. 458 (1960)
• Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks v. Florida East Coast Railway Co. · 384 U.S. 238 (1966)
• Arcadia v. Ohio Power Co. · 498 U.S. 73 (1990)

Cited by

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

• American Airlines, Inc. v. Wolens · 513 U.S. 219 (1995)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons · 552 U.S. 214 (2008)
• Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams · 532 U.S. 105 (2001)
• United States v. Mead Corp. · 533 U.S. 218 (2001)
• United States v. Wells · 519 U.S. 482 (1997)
• At&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Board · 525 U.S. 366 (1999)
• Brogan v. United States · 522 U.S. 398 (1998)
• Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia · 517 U.S. 186 (1996)

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).