Pittston Coal Group, et al. v. Sebben, James, et al.

Decided December 6, 1988. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-821 · 488 U.S. 105 (1988) · Cited 355 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 5–4.

“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.

• Mullins Coal Co. of Va. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs · 484 U.S. 135 (1987)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc. · 486 U.S. 281 (1988)
• Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Assn. of United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. · 463 U.S. 29 (1983)
• Udall v. Tallman · 380 U.S. 1 (1965)
• Bowen v. City of New York · 476 U.S. 467 (1986)
• County Court of Ulster Cty. v. Allen · 442 U.S. 140 (1979)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Heckler v. Ringer · 466 U.S. 602 (1984)
• Usery v. Turner Elkhorn Mining Co. · 428 U.S. 1 (1976)
• United States v. Locke · 471 U.S. 84 (1985)
• Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Wichita Board of Trade · 412 U.S. 800 (1973)
• Examining Bd. of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors v. Flores De Otero · 426 U.S. 572 (1976)
• Miller v. Youakim · 440 U.S. 125 (1979)
• Aluminum Co. of America v. Central Lincoln Peoples' Utility District · 467 U.S. 380 (1984)
• U. S. Bulk Carriers, Inc. v. Arguelles · 400 U.S. 351 (1971)

Cited by

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

• Pauley v. BethEnergy Mines, Inc. · 501 U.S. 680 (1991)
• Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co. · 505 U.S. 469 (1992)
• MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. American Telephone & Telegraph Co. · 512 U.S. 218 (1994)
• United States Department of Labor v. Triplett · 494 U.S. 715 (1990)
• Eli Lilly & Co. v. Medtronic, Inc. · 496 U.S. 661 (1990)

Official text

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

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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).