Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston et al.

Decided January 8, 1985. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-997 · 469 U.S. 111 (1985) · Cited 1,808 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 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.

• Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
• United States v. Murdock · 290 U.S. 389 (1934)
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• Hishon v. King & Spalding · 467 U.S. 69 (1984)
• United States v. Illinois Central Railroad · 303 U.S. 239 (1938)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• Overnight Motor Transportation Co. v. Missel · 316 U.S. 572 (1942)
• City of Los Angeles Department of Water v. Manhart · 435 U.S. 702 (1978)
• Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp. · 400 U.S. 542 (1971)
• United Air Lines, Inc. v. McMann · 434 U.S. 192 (1977)
• Federal Energy Administration v. Algonquin SNG, Inc. · 426 U.S. 548 (1976)

Cited by

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

• Hazen Paper Co. v. Biggins · 507 U.S. 604 (1993)
• McLaughlin v. Richland Shoe Co. · 486 U.S. 128 (1988)
• Commissioner v. Schleier · 515 U.S. 323 (1995)
• Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory · 554 U.S. 84 (2008)
• Kolstad v. American Dental Assn. · 527 U.S. 526 (1999)
• Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Criswell · 472 U.S. 400 (1985)
• Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly · 550 U.S. 544 (2007)
• Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. · 557 U.S. 167 (2009)
• Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk · 569 U.S. 66 (2013)
• Safeco Insurance Co. of America v. Burr · 551 U.S. 47 (2007)
• Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A. · 559 U.S. 573 (2010)
• Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. · 575 U.S. 206 (2015)
• Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services · 605 U.S. 303 (2025)
• Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A. · 534 U.S. 506 (2002)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• Bragdon v. Abbott · 524 U.S. 624 (1998)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co. · 513 U.S. 352 (1995)
• Olmstead v. L.C. · 527 U.S. 581 (1999)
• Smith v. City of Jackson · 544 U.S. 228 (2005)
• Connecticut v. Doehr · 501 U.S. 1 (1991)
• 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett · 556 U.S. 247 (2009)
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement v. Johnson Controls, Inc. · 499 U.S. 187 (1991)
• El Paso Natural Gas Co. v. Neztsosie · 526 U.S. 473 (1999)
• City of Edmonds v. Oxford House, Inc. · 514 U.S. 725 (1995)
• Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. County of Kent · 510 U.S. 355 (1994)
• O'Gilvie v. United States · 519 U.S. 79 (1996)
• Johnson v. Arteaga-Martinez · 596 U.S. 573 (2022)

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).