Puerto RICO Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc.

Decided January 12, 1993. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-1010 · 506 U.S. 139 (1993) · Cited 2,130 times

Holding

States and state entities that claim to be "arms of the State" may take advantage of the collateral order doctrine of Cohen v.

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 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.

• Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp. · 337 U.S. 541 (1949)
• Mitchell v. Forsyth · 472 U.S. 511 (1985)
• Catlin v. United States · 324 U.S. 229 (1945)
• Nixon v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 731 (1982)
• Van Cauwenberghe v. Biard · 486 U.S. 517 (1988)
• Ex Parte State of New York, No. 1 · 256 U.S. 490 (1921)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Green v. Mansour · 474 U.S. 64 (1985)
• Cory v. White · 457 U.S. 85 (1982)
• Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
• Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle · 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Coopers & Lybrand v. Livesay · 437 U.S. 463 (1978)
• Alabama v. Pugh · 438 U.S. 781 (1978)
• Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Risjord · 449 U.S. 368 (1981)
• Welch v. Texas Department of Highways & Public Transportation · 483 U.S. 468 (1987)
• Sullivan v. Finkelstein · 496 U.S. 617 (1990)
• LAURO LINES s.r.l. v. Chasser · 490 U.S. 495 (1989)

Cited by

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

• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• Behrens v. Pelletier · 516 U.S. 299 (1996)
• Will v. Hallock · 546 U.S. 345 (2006)
• Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Hyatt · 587 U.S. 230 (2019)
• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Tennessee v. Lane · 541 U.S. 509 (2004)
• Hess v. Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation · 513 U.S. 30 (1994)
• Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson · 595 U.S. 30 (2021)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
• Lapides v. Board of Regents of Univ. System of Ga. · 535 U.S. 613 (2002)
• Digital Equipment Corp. v. Desktop Direct, Inc. · 511 U.S. 863 (1994)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
• Cunningham v. Hamilton County · 527 U.S. 198 (1999)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority · 535 U.S. 743 (2002)
• United States v. Texas · 507 U.S. 529 (1993)
• Alabama v. North Carolina · 560 U.S. 330 (2010)
• Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation v. Hood · 541 U.S. 440 (2004)
• Shoop v. Twyford · 596 U.S. 811 (2022)
• Financial Oversight and Management Bd. for P. R. v. Centro De Periodismo Investigativo, Inc. · 598 U.S. 339 (2023)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1993). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).