United States Department of Transportation et al. v. Paralyzed Veterans of America et al.

Decided June 27, 1986. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 85-289 · 477 U.S. 597 (1986) · Cited 224 times

Holding

Section 504 is not applicable to commercial airlines.

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 6–3.

“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.

• Grove City College v. Bell · 465 U.S. 555 (1984)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Reiter v. Sonotone Corp. · 442 U.S. 330 (1979)
• Alexander v. Choate · 469 U.S. 287 (1985)
• Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Milhollin · 444 U.S. 555 (1980)
• Consolidated Rail Corporation v. Darrone · 465 U.S. 624 (1984)

Cited by

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

• National Collegiate Athletic Assn. v. Smith · 525 U.S. 459 (1999)
• School Bd. of Nassau Cty. v. Arline · 480 U.S. 273 (1987)
• Lane v. Pena · 518 U.S. 187 (1996)

Official text

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

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Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1986). 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).