Otter Tail Power Co. v. United States

Decided February 22, 1973. William Orville Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-991 · 410 U.S. 366 (1973) · Cited 579 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 4–3.

“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.

• Ricci v. Chicago Mercantile Exchange · 409 U.S. 289 (1973)
• United States v. Radio Corp. of America · 358 U.S. 334 (1959)
• Lorain Journal Co. v. United States · 342 U.S. 143 (1951)
• Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc. · 365 U.S. 127 (1961)
• California Motor Transport Co. v. Trucking Unlimited · 404 U.S. 508 (1972)
• United States v. Philadelphia National Bank · 374 U.S. 321 (1963)
• Silver v. New York Stock Exchange · 373 U.S. 341 (1963)
• Northern Pacific Railway Co. v. United States · 356 U.S. 1 (1958)
• United States v. Topco Associates, Inc. · 405 U.S. 596 (1972)
• Associated Press v. United States · 326 U.S. 1 (1945)
• United States v. Arnold, Schwinn & Co. · 388 U.S. 365 (1967)
• Eastman Kodak Co. v. Southern Photo Materials Co. · 273 U.S. 359 (1927)
• Far East Conference v. United States · 342 U.S. 570 (1952)
• Keogh v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co. · 260 U.S. 156 (1922)
• White Motor Co. v. United States · 372 U.S. 253 (1963)
• United States v. Griffith · 334 U.S. 100 (1948)
• Hughes Tool Co. v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. · 409 U.S. 363 (1973)
• Timken Roller Bearing Co. v. United States · 341 U.S. 593 (1951)
• United States v. Crescent Amusement Co. · 323 U.S. 173 (1944)
• United States Navigation Co. v. Cunard Steamship Co. · 284 U.S. 474 (1932)
• Schine Chain Theatres, Inc. v. United States · 334 U.S. 110 (1948)
• California v. Federal Power Commission · 369 U.S. 482 (1962)
• Carnation Co. v. Pacific Westbound Conference · 383 U.S. 213 (1966)
• Federal Trade Commission v. National Lead Co. · 352 U.S. 419 (1957)

Cited by

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

• City of Lafayette v. Louisiana Power & Light Co. · 435 U.S. 389 (1978)
• Vendo Co. v. Lektro-Vend Corp. · 433 U.S. 623 (1977)
• United States v. National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. · 422 U.S. 694 (1975)
• New York v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission · 535 U.S. 1 (2002)
• Professional Real Estate Investors, Inc. v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. · 508 U.S. 49 (1993)
• Verizon Communications Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis v. Trinko, LLP · 540 U.S. 398 (2004)
• Cantor v. Detroit Edison Co. · 428 U.S. 579 (1976)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. Seatrain Lines, Inc. · 411 U.S. 726 (1973)
• Gordon v. New York Stock Exchange, Inc. · 422 U.S. 659 (1975)
• Gulf States Utilities Co. v. Federal Power Commission · 411 U.S. 747 (1973)
• Ball v. James · 451 U.S. 355 (1981)

Official text

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

Explore from here

William Orville Douglas’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).