Potomac Electric Power Co. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, U.S. Department of Labor, et al.

Decided December 15, 1980. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 79-816 · 449 U.S. 268 (1980) · Cited 296 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 8–1.

“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.

• Baltimore & Phila. Steamboat Co. v. Norton · 284 U.S. 408 (1932)
• Cardillo v. Liberty Mutual Insurance · 330 U.S. 469 (1947)
• Voris v. Eikel · 346 U.S. 328 (1953)
• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
• Reed v. the Yaka · 373 U.S. 410 (1963)

Cited by

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

• Metropolitan Stevedore Co. v. Rambo · 521 U.S. 121 (1997)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. · 514 U.S. 122 (1995)
• Morrison-Knudsen Construction Co. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs · 461 U.S. 624 (1983)
• K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc. · 486 U.S. 281 (1988)
• Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co. · 505 U.S. 469 (1992)
• Schweiker v. Gray Panthers · 453 U.S. 34 (1981)
• Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc. · 566 U.S. 93 (2012)
• Rodriguez v. Compass Shipping Co. · 451 U.S. 596 (1981)
• Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority v. Johnson · 467 U.S. 925 (1984)

Official text

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

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John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

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).