Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation v. R. a. Gray & Co.

Decided June 18, 1984. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-245 · 467 U.S. 717 (1984) · Cited 912 times

Holding

Application of the withdrawal liability provisions of the MPPAA during the 5-month period prior to the statute's enactment does not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth 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 9–0.

“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.

• Usery v. Turner Elkhorn Mining Co. · 428 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Nachman Corp. v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation · 446 U.S. 359 (1980)
• Alessi v. Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc. · 451 U.S. 504 (1981)
• Allied Structural Steel Co. v. Spannaus · 438 U.S. 234 (1978)
• Welch v. Henry · 305 U.S. 134 (1938)
• Railroad Retirement Board v. Alton Railroad · 295 U.S. 330 (1935)
• United States v. Darusmont · 449 U.S. 292 (1981)
• Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc. · 348 U.S. 483 (1955)
• Home Building & Loan Assn. v. Blaisdell · 290 U.S. 398 (1934)
• United States Trust Co. of NY v. New Jersey · 431 U.S. 1 (1977)
• Ferguson v. Skrupa · 372 U.S. 726 (1963)
• Energy Reserves Group, Inc. v. Kansas Power & Light Co. · 459 U.S. 400 (1983)
• Lichter v. United States · 334 U.S. 742 (1948)
• Norman v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad · 294 U.S. 240 (1935)
• Fleming v. Rhodes · 331 U.S. 100 (1947)
• Carpenter v. Wabash Railway Co. · 309 U.S. 23 (1940)
• Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad v. Schubert · 224 U.S. 603 (1912)
• Funkhouser v. J. B. Preston Co. · 290 U.S. 163 (1933)

Cited by

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

• Connolly v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation · 475 U.S. 211 (1986)
• Concrete Pipe & Products of Cal., Inc. v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust for Southern Cal. · 508 U.S. 602 (1993)
• Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel · 524 U.S. 498 (1998)
• National Railroad Passenger Corp. v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. · 470 U.S. 451 (1985)
• United States v. Winstar Corp. · 518 U.S. 839 (1996)
• Bay Area Laundry & Dry Cleaning Pension Trust Fund v. Ferbar Corp. of California, Inc. · 522 U.S. 192 (1997)
• United States v. Carlton · 512 U.S. 26 (1994)
• Landgraf v. USI Film Products · 511 U.S. 244 (1994)
• Bowen v. Georgetown University Hospital · 488 U.S. 204 (1988)
• Nollan v. California Coastal Commission · 483 U.S. 825 (1987)
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• United States v. Locke · 471 U.S. 84 (1985)
• Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation v. LTV Corp. · 496 U.S. 633 (1990)
• General Motors Corp. v. Romein · 503 U.S. 181 (1992)
• Egelhoff v. Egelhoff Ex Rel. Breiner · 532 U.S. 141 (2001)
• United States v. Sperry Corp. · 493 U.S. 52 (1989)
• Milwaukee Brewery Workers' Pension Plan v. Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. · 513 U.S. 414 (1995)

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 (1984). 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).