Norwest Bank Worthington, et al. v. James R. Ahlers et Ux.
Decided March 7, 1988. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 86-958 · 485 U.S. 197 (1988) · Cited 992 times
Holding
The absolute priority rule applies, and respondents' promise of future labor warrants no exception to its operation.
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 8–0.
Majority · 8
“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.
- Case v. Los Angeles Lumber Products Co. · 308 U.S. 106 (1939)
- Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
- Securities & Exchange Commission v. United States Realty & Improvement Co. · 310 U.S. 434 (1940)
- Louisville Trust Co. v. Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railway Co. · 174 U.S. 674 (1899)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Bank of America National Trust & Savings Ass'n v. 203 North LaSalle Street Partnership · 526 U.S. 434 (1999)
- Law v. Siegel · 571 U.S. 415 (2014)
- Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp. · 580 U.S. 451 (2017)
- Marrama v. Citizens Bank of Mass. · 549 U.S. 365 (2007)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1988). 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).