Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco Inc.
Decided April 6, 1987. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 85-1798 · 481 U.S. 1 (1987) · Cited 1,834 times
Holding
The lower federal courts should have abstained under the principles of federalism enunciated in Younger.
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 9–0.
Majority · 3
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Concurring · 6
- Antonin Scalia · filed a concurring opinion
- Harry Andrew Blackmun · filed a concurring opinion
- John Paul Stevens · filed a concurring opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Thurgood Marshall · filed a concurring opinion
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · filed a concurring opinion
“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.
- Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
- District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman · 460 U.S. 462 (1983)
- Juidice v. Vail · 430 U.S. 327 (1977)
- Huffman v. Pursue, Ltd. · 420 U.S. 592 (1975)
- Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co. · 263 U.S. 413 (1924)
- Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co. · 457 U.S. 922 (1982)
- Moore v. Sims · 442 U.S. 415 (1979)
- Mitchum v. Foster · 407 U.S. 225 (1972)
- Trainor v. Hernandez · 431 U.S. 434 (1977)
- Railroad Comm'n of Tex. v. Pullman Co. · 312 U.S. 496 (1941)
- Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Ass'n · 457 U.S. 423 (1982)
- Ohio Civil Rights Commission v. Dayton Christian Schools, Inc. · 477 U.S. 619 (1986)
- McKane v. Durston · 153 U.S. 684 (1894)
- Mathews v. Eldridge · 424 U.S. 319 (1976)
- Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp. · 337 U.S. 541 (1949)
- Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
- Evitts v. Lucey · 469 U.S. 387 (1985)
- Boddie v. Connecticut · 401 U.S. 371 (1971)
- Lindsley v. Natural Carbonic Gas Co. · 220 U.S. 61 (1911)
- Zwickler v. Koota · 389 U.S. 241 (1967)
- Atlantic Coast Line Railroad v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers · 398 U.S. 281 (1970)
- Johnson v. Louisiana · 406 U.S. 356 (1972)
- Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff · 467 U.S. 229 (1984)
- Lindsey v. Normet · 405 U.S. 56 (1972)
- Leroy v. Great Western United Corp. · 443 U.S. 173 (1979)
- Ohio Bureau of Employment Services v. Hodory · 431 U.S. 471 (1977)
- Fenner v. Boykin · 271 U.S. 240 (1926)
- District of Columbia v. Clawans · 300 U.S. 617 (1937)
- Ortwein v. Schwab · 410 U.S. 656 (1973)
- Propper v. Clark · 337 U.S. 472 (1949)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Industries Corp. · 544 U.S. 280 (2005)
- New Orleans Public Service, Inc. v. Council of City of New Orleans · 491 U.S. 350 (1989)
- Ankenbrandt Ex Rel. L. R. v. Richards · 504 U.S. 689 (1992)
- City of Houston v. Hill · 482 U.S. 451 (1987)
- Chick Kam Choo v. Exxon Corp. · 486 U.S. 140 (1988)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1987). 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).