Trinova Corporation v. Michigan Department of Treasury

Decided February 19, 1991. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-1106 · 498 U.S. 358 (1991) · Cited 116 times

Holding

As applied to Trinova during the tax year at issue, the SBT's three-factor apportionment formula does not violate either the Due Process Clause or the Commerce Clause.

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 6–2.

“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.

• Container Corp. of America v. Franchise Tax Board · 463 U.S. 159 (1983)
• Mobil Oil Corp. v. Commissioner of Taxes of Vt. · 445 U.S. 425 (1980)
• Moorman Manufacturing Co. v. Bair · 437 U.S. 267 (1978)
• Amerada Hess Corp. v. Director, Division of Taxation, New Jersey Department of the Treasury · 490 U.S. 66 (1989)
• Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady · 430 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Goldberg v. Sweet · 488 U.S. 252 (1989)
• Butler Bros. v. McColgan, Franchise Tax Commissioner · 315 U.S. 501 (1942)
• Boston Stock Exchange v. State Tax Commission · 429 U.S. 318 (1977)
• Underwood Typewriter Co. v. Chamberlain · 254 U.S. 113 (1920)
• Spector Motor Service, Inc. v. O'Connor · 340 U.S. 602 (1951)
• American Trucking Assns., Inc. v. Scheiner · 483 U.S. 266 (1987)
• McGoldrick v. Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. · 309 U.S. 33 (1940)
• Tyler Pipe Industries, Inc. v. Washington State Department of Revenue · 483 U.S. 232 (1987)
• General Motors Corp. v. Washington · 377 U.S. 436 (1964)
• Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Co. v. Reily · 373 U.S. 64 (1963)
• ASARCO Inc. v. Idaho State Tax Commission · 458 U.S. 307 (1982)
• Norfolk & Western Railway Co. v. Missouri State Tax Commission · 390 U.S. 317 (1968)
• Standard Pressed Steel Co. v. Department of Revenue of Wash. · 419 U.S. 560 (1975)
• Westinghouse Electric Corp. v. Tully · 466 U.S. 388 (1984)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Beauchamp · 308 U.S. 331 (1940)

Cited by

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

• Quill Corp. v. North Dakota Ex Rel. Heitkamp · 504 U.S. 298 (1992)

Official text

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

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Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1991). 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).