Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. v. Feeney

Decided April 30, 1990. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-386 · 495 U.S. 299 (1990) · Cited 578 times

Holding

The statutory consent to suit provision, as elucidated by the venue provision, establishes the States' waiver of any Eleventh Amendment immunity that might otherwise bar respondents' suits against PATH.

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.

• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Lake Country Estates, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 440 U.S. 391 (1979)
• Welch v. Texas Department of Highways & Public Transportation · 483 U.S. 468 (1987)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Petty v. Tennessee-Missouri Bridge Commission · 359 U.S. 275 (1959)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 465 U.S. 89 (1984)
• Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle · 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Employees of Department of Public Health v. Department of Public Health · 411 U.S. 279 (1973)
• Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Great Northern Life Insurance Co. v. Read · 322 U.S. 47 (1944)
• Dellmuth v. Muth · 491 U.S. 223 (1989)
• Lincoln County v. Luning · 133 U.S. 529 (1890)
• Papasan v. Allain · 478 U.S. 265 (1986)
• Quern v. Jordan · 440 U.S. 332 (1979)
• Alabama v. Pugh · 438 U.S. 781 (1978)
• Osborn v. Bank of United States · 22 U.S. 738 (1824)
• Green v. Mansour · 474 U.S. 64 (1985)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Department of Treasury · 323 U.S. 459 (1945)
• Moor v. County of Alameda · 411 U.S. 693 (1973)
• United States Trust Co. of NY v. New Jersey · 431 U.S. 1 (1977)
• Parden v. Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks Department · 377 U.S. 184 (1964)
• Barron Ex Rel. Tiernan v. Mayor of Baltimore · 32 U.S. 243 (1833)
• Florida Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services v. Florida Nursing Home Ass'n · 450 U.S. 147 (1981)
• Cory v. White · 457 U.S. 85 (1982)
• Smith v. Reeves · 178 U.S. 436 (1900)
• Kennecott Copper Corp. v. State Tax Commission · 327 U.S. 573 (1946)
• Virginia v. Tennessee · 148 U.S. 503 (1893)
• Chicot County v. Sherwood · 148 U.S. 529 (1893)

Cited by

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

• Hess v. Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation · 513 U.S. 30 (1994)
• Hilton v. South Carolina Public Railways Commission · 502 U.S. 197 (1991)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
• Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak · 501 U.S. 775 (1991)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). 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).