Wards Cove Packing Co., Inc., et al. v. Atonio et al.

Decided June 5, 1989. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-1387 · 490 U.S. 642 (1989) · Cited 1,123 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.

• Griggs v. Duke Power Co. · 401 U.S. 424 (1971)
• Watson v. Fort Worth Bank & Trust · 487 U.S. 977 (1988)
• Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine · 450 U.S. 248 (1981)
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Connecticut v. Teal · 457 U.S. 440 (1982)
• Hazelwood School District v. United States · 433 U.S. 299 (1977)
• Dothard v. Rawlinson · 433 U.S. 321 (1977)
• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• New York City Transit Authority v. Beazer · 440 U.S. 568 (1979)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• United States Postal Service Board of Governors v. Aikens · 460 U.S. 711 (1983)
• Furnco Construction Corp. v. Waters · 438 U.S. 567 (1978)
• Rodriguez De Quijas v. Shearson/American Express, Inc. · 490 U.S. 477 (1989)
• Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
• Runyon v. McCrary · 427 U.S. 160 (1976)
• Corning Glass Works v. Brennan · 417 U.S. 188 (1974)
• McNally v. United States · 483 U.S. 350 (1987)
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co. · 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
• School Bd. of Nassau Cty. v. Arline · 480 U.S. 273 (1987)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Transportation Management Corp. · 462 U.S. 393 (1983)
• Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara Cty. · 480 U.S. 616 (1987)
• Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 462 U.S. 669 (1983)
• Standard Oil Co. v. Federal Trade Commission · 340 U.S. 231 (1951)

Cited by

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

• Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory · 554 U.S. 84 (2008)
• Smith v. City of Jackson · 544 U.S. 228 (2005)
• Landgraf v. USI Film Products · 511 U.S. 244 (1994)
• Ricci v. DeStefano · 557 U.S. 557 (2009)
• Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. · 557 U.S. 167 (2009)
• Vance v. Ball State Univ. · 570 U.S. 421 (2013)
• Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc. · 550 U.S. 618 (2007)
• St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks · 509 U.S. 502 (1993)
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes · 564 U.S. 338 (2011)
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement v. Johnson Controls, Inc. · 499 U.S. 187 (1991)
• O'NEAL v. McAninch · 513 U.S. 432 (1995)
• West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. v. Casey · 499 U.S. 83 (1991)
• Olmstead v. L.C. · 527 U.S. 581 (1999)
• Raytheon Co. v. Hernandez · 540 U.S. 44 (2003)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Greenwich Collieries · 512 U.S. 267 (1994)
• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio v. Betts · 492 U.S. 158 (1989)
• Groff v. DeJoy · 600 U.S. 447 (2023)

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).