Penn Central Transportation Co. et al. v. New York City et al.

Decided June 26, 1978. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 77-444 · 438 U.S. 104 (1978) · Cited 3,324 times

Holding

The application of the Landmarks Law to the Terminal property does not constitute a "taking" of appellants' property within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment as made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment.

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.

• Goldblatt v. Town of Hempstead · 369 U.S. 590 (1962)
• United States v. Causby · 328 U.S. 256 (1946)
• Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon · 260 U.S. 393 (1922)
• Monongahela Navigation Co. v. United States · 148 U.S. 312 (1893)
• Miller v. Schoene · 276 U.S. 272 (1928)
• Armstrong v. United States · 364 U.S. 40 (1960)
• Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. · 272 U.S. 365 (1926)
• United States v. General Motors Corp. · 323 U.S. 373 (1945)
• Nectow v. City of Cambridge · 277 U.S. 183 (1928)
• Gorieb v. Fox · 274 U.S. 603 (1927)
• United States v. Caltex (Philippines), Inc. · 344 U.S. 149 (1952)
• Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. · 427 U.S. 50 (1976)
• Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad v. Chicago · 166 U.S. 226 (1897)
• Dugan v. Rank · 372 U.S. 609 (1963)
• Berman v. Parker · 348 U.S. 26 (1954)
• United States v. Cress · 243 U.S. 316 (1917)
• Griggs v. Allegheny County · 369 U.S. 84 (1962)
• City of Eastlake v. Forest City Enterprises, Inc. · 426 U.S. 668 (1976)
• Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway v. Walters · 294 U.S. 405 (1935)
• Portsmouth Harbor Land & Hotel Co. v. United States · 260 U.S. 327 (1922)
• Moore v. City of East Cleveland · 431 U.S. 494 (1977)
• City of New Orleans v. Dukes · 427 U.S. 297 (1976)
• Boom Co. v. Patterson · 98 U.S. 403 (1879)
• United States v. Dickinson · 331 U.S. 745 (1947)
• United States v. Chandler-Dunbar Water Power Co. · 229 U.S. 53 (1913)
• United States v. Central Eureka Mining Co. · 357 U.S. 155 (1958)
• United States v. Willow River Power Co. · 324 U.S. 499 (1945)
• Reinman v. City of Little Rock · 237 U.S. 171 (1915)
• United States v. Pewee Coal Co. · 341 U.S. 114 (1951)
• United States v. New River Collieries Co. · 262 U.S. 341 (1923)

Cited by

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

• Palazzolo v. Rhode Island · 533 U.S. 606 (2001)
• Murr v. Wisconsin · 582 U.S. 383 (2017)
• Keystone Bituminous Coal Assn. v. DeBenedictis · 480 U.S. 470 (1987)
• Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management Dist. · 570 U.S. 595 (2013)
• Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council · 505 U.S. 1003 (1992)
• Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp. · 458 U.S. 419 (1982)
• Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 535 U.S. 302 (2002)
• MacDonald, Sommer & Frates v. Yolo County · 477 U.S. 340 (1986)
• Suitum v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 520 U.S. 725 (1997)
• San Diego Gas & Electric Co. v. City of San Diego · 450 U.S. 621 (1981)
• Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City · 473 U.S. 172 (1985)
• Nollan v. California Coastal Commission · 483 U.S. 825 (1987)
• First English Evangelical Lutheran Church v. County of Los Angeles · 482 U.S. 304 (1987)
• Lingle v. Chevron U. S. A. Inc. · 544 U.S. 528 (2005)
• Dolan v. City of Tigard · 512 U.S. 374 (1994)
• Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid · 594 U.S. 139 (2021)
• Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel · 524 U.S. 498 (1998)
• Webb's Fabulous Pharmacies, Inc. v. Beckwith · 449 U.S. 155 (1980)
• Hodel v. Irving · 481 U.S. 704 (1987)
• Andrus v. Allard · 444 U.S. 51 (1979)
• Phillips v. Washington Legal Foundation · 524 U.S. 156 (1998)
• Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. United States · 568 U.S. 23 (2012)
• Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington · 538 U.S. 216 (2003)
• Kaiser Aetna v. United States · 444 U.S. 164 (1979)
• San Remo Hotel, L. P. v. City & County of San Francisco · 545 U.S. 323 (2005)
• Bowen v. Gilliard · 483 U.S. 587 (1987)
• Horne v. Department of Agriculture · 576 U.S. 351 (2015)
• Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto Co. · 467 U.S. 986 (1984)
• Agins v. City of Tiburon · 447 U.S. 255 (1980)
• Yee v. City of Escondido · 503 U.S. 519 (1992)

Official text

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

Explore from here

William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1978). 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).