Varity Corporation v. Charles Howe et al.

Decided March 19, 1996. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 94-1471 · 516 U.S. 489 (1996) · Cited 1,806 times

Holding

Section 6972 does not authorize a private cause of action to recover the prior cost of cleaning up toxic waste that does not, at the time of suit, continue to pose an endangerment to health or the environment.

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.

• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance v. Russell · 473 U.S. 134 (1985)
• Mertens v. Hewitt Associates · 508 U.S. 248 (1993)
• Curtiss-Wright Corp. v. Schoonejongen · 514 U.S. 73 (1995)
• Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch · 489 U.S. 101 (1989)
• Connecticut National Bank v. Germain · 503 U.S. 249 (1992)
• Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. Central Transport, Inc. · 472 U.S. 559 (1985)
• Pilot Life Insurance v. Dedeaux · 481 U.S. 41 (1987)
• Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. · 504 U.S. 374 (1992)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• MacKey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc. · 486 U.S. 825 (1988)
• Nachman Corp. v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation · 446 U.S. 359 (1980)
• Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Products Corp. · 353 U.S. 222 (1957)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Amax Coal Co. · 453 U.S. 322 (1981)
• HCSC-Laundry v. United States · 450 U.S. 1 (1981)
• John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance v. Harris Trust & Savings Bank · 510 U.S. 86 (1993)
• Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder · 425 U.S. 185 (1976)
• Crawford Fitting Co. v. J. T. Gibbons, Inc. · 482 U.S. 437 (1987)
• Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Darden · 503 U.S. 318 (1992)
• Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co. · 505 U.S. 469 (1992)
• United States v. Price · 361 U.S. 304 (1960)

Cited by

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

• Thole v. U. S. Bank N. A. · 590 U.S. 538 (2020)
• LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates, Inc. · 552 U.S. 248 (2008)
• Conkright v. Frommert · 559 U.S. 506 (2010)
• Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Glenn · 554 U.S. 105 (2008)
• Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co. · 571 U.S. 99 (2013)
• Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance v. Knudson · 534 U.S. 204 (2002)
• Pegram v. Herdrich · 530 U.S. 211 (2000)
• CIGNA Corp. v. Amara · 563 U.S. 421 (2011)
• United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation · 564 U.S. 162 (2011)
• Cunningham v. Cornell Univ. · 604 U.S. 693 (2025)
• Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila · 542 U.S. 200 (2004)
• Hughes Aircraft Co. v. Jacobson · 525 U.S. 432 (1999)
• Radlax Gateway Hotel, LLC v. Amalgamated Bank · 566 U.S. 639 (2012)
• LOCKHEED CORP. Et Al. v. SPINK · 517 U.S. 882 (1996)
• Negusie v. Holder · 555 U.S. 511 (2009)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Stephen Gerald Breyer’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1996). 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).