Oregon Ex Rel. State Land Board v. Corvallis Sand & Gravel Co.

Decided January 12, 1977. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-567 · 429 U.S. 363 (1977) · Cited 238 times

Holding

The disputed ownership of the riverbed lands should be decided solely as a matter of Oregon law and not by federal common law, since application of federal common law is required neither by the equal-footing doctrine nor by any other principle of federal law.

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 6–3.

“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.

• Shively v. Bowlby · 152 U.S. 1 (1894)
• Hughes v. Washington · 389 U.S. 290 (1967)
• Bonelli Cattle Co. v. Arizona · 414 U.S. 313 (1973)
• Borax Consolidated, Ltd. v. Los Angeles · 296 U.S. 10 (1935)
• Barney v. Keokuk · 94 U.S. 324 (1877)
• Packer v. Bird · 137 U.S. 661 (1891)
• Weber v. Board of Harbor Commissioners · 85 U.S. 57 (1873)
• Mitchell v. W. T. Grant Co. · 416 U.S. 600 (1974)
• Wallis v. Pan American Petroleum Corp. · 384 U.S. 63 (1966)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Smith v. Allwright · 321 U.S. 649 (1944)
• Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co. · 285 U.S. 393 (1932)
• The Propeller Genesee Chief v. Fitzhugh · 53 U.S. 443 (1852)
• United States v. Little Lake Misere Land Co. · 412 U.S. 580 (1973)
• Gibson v. United States · 166 U.S. 269 (1897)
• Davies Warehouse Co. v. Bowles · 321 U.S. 144 (1944)
• Nebraska v. Iowa · 143 U.S. 359 (1892)
• United States v. Title Insurance & Trust Co. · 265 U.S. 472 (1924)

Cited by

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

• Wilson v. Omaha Indian Tribe · 442 U.S. 653 (1979)
• Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Mississippi · 484 U.S. 469 (1988)
• Payne v. Tennessee · 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
• Idaho v. Coeur D'Alene Tribe of Idaho · 521 U.S. 261 (1997)
• Piper v. Chris-Craft Industries, Inc. · 430 U.S. 1 (1977)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1977). 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).