Volume 440 — United States Reports

This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 440 of the United States Reports:

The Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (Act) Amendments of 1972, to combat inflation, replaced the Act's $70 maximum limitation on weekly disability benefits with a four-step… Held: Death benefits payable under the Act are not subject to the maximum limitations placed on disability payments by § 6(b)(1). This conclusion is supported by both the language and legislative history of the 1972 Amendments. Pp. 35-47.

In Chapter XI arrangement proceedings under the Bankruptcy Act, petitioner acquired a second mortgage on certain North Carolina real estate to secure a $360,000 indebtedness but received no express… Held: Apart from certain special provisions, the Bankruptcy Act generally leaves the determination of property rights in the assets of a bankrupt's estate to state law.

To resolve a dispute over the ownership of certain lands, California seeks to invoke this Court's original jurisdiction in an action to quiet title against Arizona and the United States, both of which contend that the United States has not consented to be a defendant and that therefore California's motion for leave to file a bill of complaint must be denied.

Section 2(a) of the Clayton Act, as amended by the Robinson-Patman Act, prohibits price discrimination by sellers, but under § 2(b) the… Held: A buyer who has done no more than accept the lower of two prices competitively offered does not violate § 2(f) provided the seller has a meeting-competition defense, and here where Borden had such a defense and thus could not be liable under § 2(b) petitioner, who did no more than accept Borden's offer, cannot be liable under § 2(f).

Section 632 of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, which requires persons covered by the Foreign Service retirement system to retire at age 60, though no mandatory retirement age is established for Civil Service employees, including those who serve abroad, held not to violate the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Pp. 95-112.

In administering its Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care program (AFDC-FC), Illinois distinguishes between children who reside with relatives and those who do not. Children placed in unrelated foster homes qualify for the AFDC-FC program, which provides greater monthly payments than the basic AFDC program.

Montana levies a 1% gross receipts tax upon contractors of public, but not private, construction projects. Held: The United States is collaterally estopped from challenging the prior judgment of the Montana Supreme Court. Pp. 973-979.

Under the Illinois Election Code, new political parties and independent candidates must obtain the signatures of 25,000 qualified voters in order to appear on the ballot in statewide elections. Held: This Court's summary affirmance in Jackson v. Ogilvie , 403 U.S. 925, 91 S.Ct. 2247, 29 L.Ed.2d 705, of the District Court's decision in 325 F.Supp. 864, upholding Illinois' 5% signature requirement is not dispositive of the equal protection question presented here.

Held: apparently, that the School Board’s decision to substitute the sanction of contract nonrenewal for the sanction of withholding routine pay increases was so “arbitrary” that it offended “notions of fairness” generally embodied in the Due Process Clause.

Petitioner Blue Shield, a Texas insurance company, offers policies that entitle the insured to obtain prescription drugs.

Aronson v. Quick Point Pencil Co., 440 U.S. 257 (1979), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that federal patent law does not preempt state contract law so as to preclude enforcement of the contract.

Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. 268 (1979), was a United States Supreme Court case that held that Alabama statutes that imposed alimony obligations on husbands but not on wives violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Petitioner employer, in response to a request made by a Union in connection with arbitration of a grievance filed on behalf of employees in a… Held: The Board abused its remedial discretion in ordering petitioner to turn over the test battery and answer sheets directly to the union. Pp. 312-317. (a) A union's bare assertion that it needs information to process a grievance does not automatically oblige the employer to supply all the information in the manner requested.

Held: over three dissents, that the State of Alabama could not be joined as a defendant without violating the Eleventh Amendment, even though the complaint was based on 42 U. S. C. § 1983 and the claim was a violation of *340 the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments similar to that made in Hutto .

Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367 (1979), was a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. In Scott, the Court decided whether the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments required Illinois to provide Scott with trial counsel. To emphasize the importance of court-appointed counsel, the Court opined, "[T]he interest protected by the right to have guilt or innocence determined by a jury... while important, is not as fundamental to the guarantee of a fair trial as is the right to counsel."

California and Nevada entered into a Compact, later consented to by Congress, to create respondent Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) to coordinate and regulate development in the Lake Tahoe… Held: Petitioners stated a cause of action under § 1983 and hence properly invoked federal jurisdiction under § 1343. The requirement of federal approval of the Compact did not foreclose a finding that respondents' conduct was "under color of state law" within the meaning of § 1983.

Nevada v. Hall, 440 U.S. 410 (1979), was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that U.S. states lack sovereign immunity from private lawsuits filed against them in the courts of another state. The majority opinion held that "nothing in the Constitution authorizes or obligates" states to grant sister states immunity in court. States may grant sister states immunity if they choose. This decision was overturned by the 2019 case Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt.

intentionally omitted] PER CURIAM. 1 Petitioners are national banks that lease office space in New York City, where they maintain their principal places of business. After the city assessed them for its commercial rent and occupancy tax for the period June 1, 1970, through May 31, 1972, they brought the present action, arguing that their status as national banks rendered them immune from the tax.

Respondent municipal official testified before a state grand jury under immunity granted pursuant to a New Jersey statute preventing a public employee's grand jury testimony or… Held: Under the Fifth Amendment privilege against compulsory self-incrimination made binding on the States by the Fourteenth Amendment, respondent's testimony before the grand jury under a grant of immunity could not constitutionally be used against him in the later criminal trial. Pp. 453-460.

Petitioner is a trade organization for muffler dealers but it has confined its membership to dealers franchised by Midas International Corporation and its activities to Midas' muffler business. Held: Petitioner is not entitled to the tax exemption as a "business league" within the meaning of § 501(c)(6). Pp. 1306-1313. 2nd Cir., 565 F.2d 845, affirmed. Myron P. Gordon, New York City, for petitioner. Stuart A. Smith, Washington, D. C., for respondent.

National Labor Relations Board v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 440 U.S. 490 (1979), was a Supreme Court of the United States case that ruled that the National Labor Relations Board did not have the authority to regulate religious schools. The court ruled that the Wagner Act did not grant the board authority over religious schools and that even if it did, that would cause an unconstitutional intrusion of the federal government into religion.

A New York statute authorizes the payment of unemployment compensation after one week of unemployment, except that if a claimant's loss of employment is caused by a strike… Held: The judgment is affirmed. Pp. 527-546; 546-547; 547-551. 566 F.2d 388, affirmed. Mr. Justice STEVENS, joined by Mr. Justice WHITE and Mr. Justice REHNQUIST, concluded that Congress, in enacting the NLRA and SSA, did not intend to pre-empt a State's power to pay unemployment compensation to strikers.

New York City Transit Authority v. Beazer, 440 U.S. 568 (1979), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court in which the constitutionality of an employer's refusal to hire methadone users was upheld.

Held: 36 "When a lower federal court refuses to give effect to, or misconstrues our mandate, its action may be controlled by this court, either upon a new appeal or by writ of mandamus. . . .

Held: in ruling that the threatened use of the 1972 test was an employment practice that discriminated on the basis of race, then an order to prevent the county from carrying out its threat would have been appropriate. The fact that wrongful conduct has not yet transpired does not leave a court powerless to prevent the threatened wrong, if the likelihood of harm is sufficiently substantial.

Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (1979), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that police may not stop motorists without any reasonable suspicion to suspect crime or illegal activity to check their driver's license and auto registration.

The Union Pacific Act of 1862 granted public land to the Union Pacific Railroad for each mile of track that it laid, and this was done under a system whereby land surrounding the railroad… Held: The Government does not have an implied easement to build a road across petitioners' land. Pp. 678-688.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) promulgated rules requiring cable television systems that have 3,500 or more subscribers and carry broadcast signals to develop, at a minimum, a 20-channel capacity by 1986, to make available certain channels for access by public, educational, local governmental, and leased-access users, and to furnish equipment and facilities for access purposes.

the United States' contractual lien secures a loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Small Business Act, which generally does not specify priority rules to govern SBA… Held: The priority of liens stemming from federal lending programs must be determined with reference to federal law.

Regulations in the Internal Revenue Service Manual prohibit "consensual electronic surveillance" between taxpayers and IRS agents unless certain specified prior authorization is obtained. Held: The tape recordings, and the testimony of the agents who monitored the meetings in question, were not required to be excluded from evidence because of the conceded violation of the IRS regulations. Pp. 749-757.