San Diego Gas & Electric Co. v. City of San Diego et al.

Decided March 24, 1981. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 79-678 · 450 U.S. 621 (1981) · Cited 231 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.

• Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon · 260 U.S. 393 (1922)
• Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City · 438 U.S. 104 (1978)
• Agins v. City of Tiburon · 447 U.S. 255 (1980)
• United States v. Causby · 328 U.S. 256 (1946)
• United States v. Dickinson · 331 U.S. 745 (1947)
• Goldblatt v. Town of Hempstead · 369 U.S. 590 (1962)
• Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn · 420 U.S. 469 (1975)
• United States v. General Motors Corp. · 323 U.S. 373 (1945)
• Andrus v. Allard · 444 U.S. 51 (1979)
• United States v. Clarke · 445 U.S. 253 (1980)
• Radio Station Wow, Inc. v. Johnson · 326 U.S. 120 (1945)
• Owen v. City of Independence · 445 U.S. 622 (1980)
• Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad v. Chicago · 166 U.S. 226 (1897)
• United States v. Miller · 317 U.S. 369 (1943)
• Kaiser Aetna v. United States · 444 U.S. 164 (1979)
• Webb's Fabulous Pharmacies, Inc. v. Beckwith · 449 U.S. 155 (1980)
• Jacobs v. United States · 290 U.S. 13 (1933)
• United States v. Central Eureka Mining Co. · 357 U.S. 155 (1958)
• North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy v. Snyder's Drug Stores, Inc. · 414 U.S. 156 (1973)
• Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. · 272 U.S. 365 (1926)
• Berman v. Parker · 348 U.S. 26 (1954)
• Armstrong v. United States · 364 U.S. 40 (1960)
• PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins · 447 U.S. 74 (1980)
• Olson v. United States · 292 U.S. 246 (1934)
• Monongahela Navigation Co. v. United States · 148 U.S. 312 (1893)
• United States Ex Rel. Tennessee Valley Authority v. Powelson · 319 U.S. 266 (1943)
• United States v. Memphis Cotton Oil Co. · 288 U.S. 62 (1933)
• Kimball Laundry Co. v. United States · 338 U.S. 1 (1949)
• United States v. Petty Motor Co. · 327 U.S. 372 (1946)
• United States v. Dow · 357 U.S. 17 (1958)

Cited by

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

• Knick v. Township of Scott · 588 U.S. 180 (2019)
• MacDonald, Sommer & Frates v. Yolo County · 477 U.S. 340 (1986)
• Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City · 473 U.S. 172 (1985)
• Nollan v. California Coastal Commission · 483 U.S. 825 (1987)
• First English Evangelical Lutheran Church v. County of Los Angeles · 482 U.S. 304 (1987)
• Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council · 505 U.S. 1003 (1992)
• Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 535 U.S. 302 (2002)
• Parratt v. Taylor · 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)

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).