Volume 498 — United States Reports

This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 498 of the United States Reports:

Petitioner Miles, the mother and administratrix of the estate of a seaman killed by a fellow crew member aboard the vessel of respondents (collectively Apex) docked in an American port, sued Apex in… Held: There is a general maritime cause of action for the wrongful death of a seaman.

Perry v. Louisiana, 498 U.S. 38 (1990), was a United States Supreme Court case over the legality of forcibly medicating a death row inmate with a mental disorder, to render him competent to be executed.

Held: and the Bankruptcy Court found that the money received by respondents did in fact constitute avoidable preferences. In re Republic Trust & Savings Co., No. 84C-01461, Adversary No. 85-0337 (N.D.Okla., June 26, 1987), App. to Pet. for Cert. A-45; In re Republic Trust & Savings Co., No. 84-01461, Adversary No. 85-0319 (N.D.Okla., June 26, 1987), App. to Pet. for Cert. A-64.

After petitioner FMC Corporation's self-funded health care plan (Plan) paid a portion of respondent's medical expenses resulting from an automobile accident, FMC informed respondent that it would… Held: ERISA pre-empts the application of § 1720 to FMC's Plan. Pp.56-65. (a) ERISA's pre-emption clause broadly establishes as an area of exclusive federal concern the subject of every state law that "relate[s] to" a covered employee benefit plan.

Respondent Ohio Power Co. is subject to the overlapping regulatory jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA) and the Federal… Held: Section 318 has no application to this case. The phrase "or any other subject matter" does not, as the lower court assumed, parallel the other listed subjects "with respect to [which]" duplicative agency requirements will trigger the pre-emption rule.

Irwin v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 498 U.S. 89 (1990), was a 1990 United States Supreme Court case concerning tolling of statute of limitations in litigation against the federal government. The Court held that suits against the government were subject to the same presumption of equitable tolling as are suits against private parties.

Petitioner participated in a "title-washing" scheme in which automobile titles that had been altered to reflect rolled-back odometer mileage figures were sent from Pennsylvania to Virginia. Held: A person who receives genuine vehicle titles, knowing that they incorporate fraudulently tendered odometer readings, receives those titles knowing them to have been "falsely made" in violation of § 2314. Pp. 106-118.

Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. McClendon, 498 U.S. 133 (1990), is a US labor law case, concerning the scope of labor rights in the United States.

Petitioner Minnick was arrested on a Mississippi warrant for capital murder. Held: When counsel is requested, interrogation must cease, and officials may not reinitiate interrogation without counsel present, whether or not the accused has consulted with his attorney.

After petitioner employees were discharged from their jobs, they and petitioner union invoked the grievance procedures in the collective-bargaining agreements between the union and respondent company. Held: Petitioners may seek a judicial remedy under § 301.

Petitioner Demarest, an inmate in a state correctional facility, testified as a witness in a federal criminal trial pursuant to a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum issued by the District Court. Held: Section 1821 requires payment of witness fees to a convicted state prisoner who testifies at a federal trial pursuant to a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum.

Cheek v. United States, 498 U.S. 192 (1991), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court reversed the conviction of John L. Cheek, a tax protester, for willful failure to file tax returns and tax evasion, who was convicted again during retrial. The Court held that an actual good-faith belief that one is not violating the tax law, based on a misunderstanding caused by the complexity of the tax law, negates willfulness, even if that belief is irrational or unreasonable. The Court also ruled that an actual belief that the tax law is invalid or unconstitutional is not a good faith belief based on a misunderstanding caused by the complexity of the tax law, and is not a defense.

In response to ongoing natural gas shortages, Congress enacted the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA), which, inter alia, established higher price ceilings for "new" gas in order to encourage… Held: Order No. 451 does not exceed the Commission's authority under the NGPA. Pp. 221-231.

Board of Education of Oklahoma City v. Dowell, 498 U.S. 237 (1991), was a United States Supreme Court case "hasten[ing] the end of federal court desegregation orders."

Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(2) provides that a "notice of appeal filed after the announcement of a decision or order but before the entry of the judgment or order shall be treated as… Held: Rule 4(a)(2) permits a notice of appeal filed from a nonfinal decision to serve as an effective notice of appeal from a subsequently entered final judgment when a district court announces a decision that would be appealable if immediately followed by the entry of judgment.

Respondent Garner filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, listing a fraud judgment in petitioners' favor as a dischargeable debt. Held: Preponderance of the evidence is the standard of proof for § 523(a)'s dischargeability exceptions.

United States v. R. Enterprises, Inc., 498 U.S. 292 (1991), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the three prong test for the issuance of a subpoena in United States v. Nixon does not apply to subpoenas issued by a grand jury. The Court concluded by stating that when a grand jury subpoena is challenged on relevancy grounds, the motion to quash must be denied "unless the district court determines that there is no reasonable possibility that the materials sought will produce information relevant to the grand jury's investigation."

A Florida jury convicted petitioner Parker of first-degree murder for the killings of Richard Padgett and Nancy Sheppard. Held: The Florida Supreme Court acted arbitrarily and capriciously by failing to treat adequately Parker's nonstatutory mitigating evidence. Pp. 313-323.

Respondent Wilander, a paint foreman injured at work while assigned to a "paint boat" chartered by petitioner McDermott International, sued McDermott under the Jones Act. Held: One need not aid in the navigation of a vessel in order to qualify as a "seaman" under the Jones Act. Pp. 810-818.

Michigan's single business tax (SBT) is a value added tax (VAT) levied against entities having "business activity" within the State. Held: 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. Pp. 372-387.

The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (Reform Act) eliminated special parole, supervised by the United States Parole Commission, for drug offenders after incarceration and… Held: Supervised release applies for all drug offenses in the categories specified by ADAA § 1002 that were committed after the ADAA was enacted but before November 1, 1987. Pp. 404-410. (a) Section 1002 contains no provision for its effective date and therefore took effect on its date of enactment.

Petitioner Ford, a black man charged with, inter alia, the murder of a white woman, filed a pretrial "Motion to Restrict Racial Use of Peremptory Challenges," alleging that the… Held: The Sparks rule is not an adequate and independent state procedural ground that would bar federal judicial review of Ford's Batson claim. Pp. 418-425. (a) The State Supreme Court erred in concluding that Ford failed to present the trial court with a cognizable Batson equal protection claim.

Petitioner motor carrier filed suit in a Nebraska trial court, claiming, inter alia, that certain "retaliatory" taxes and fees the State imposed on motor carriers and vehicles such as his, which are… Held: Suits for violations of the Commerce Clause may be brought under § 1983. Pp. 443-451.

Respondent, an unsuccessful candidate in prior elections of petitioner Union, advised the Union that he would be a candidate in the upcoming 1988 election and requested that he be provided with… Held: Section 401(c) does not require a court to evaluate the reasonableness of a union rule before it decides whether a candidate's request was reasonable. Pp. 473-478.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (Reform Act) amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) creating, inter alia, a "Special Agricultural Workers" (SAW) amnesty program for… Held: The District Court had federal-question jurisdiction to hear respondents' constitutional and statutory challenges to the INS procedures. Pp. 895-899. (a) There is no clear congressional language mandating preclusion of jurisdiction.

Okla. Tax Commission v. Citizen Band, Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Okla., 498 U.S. 505 (1991), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the tribe was not subject to state sales taxes on sales made to tribal members, but that they were liable for taxes on sales to non-tribal members.

Air Courier Conference of America v. American Postal Workers Union, 498 U.S. 517 (1991), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that a plaintiff challenging government action that does not regulate their own conduct must show that they are within the statute's "zone" of protection to have Article III standing.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 provides, in relevant part, that "[t]he signature of an attorney or party constitutes a certificate by the signer that the signer has read the… Held: Rule 11 applies to represented parties. The Rule's relevant portion unambiguously states that a party who signs a pleading or other paper without first conducting a reasonable inquiry shall be sanctioned, and there is nothing in the Rule's full text that detracts from this plain meaning.

Held: its decision in Parker I posed no double jeopardy bar to reprosecuting petitioner under the applicable provision of the Arkansas capital murder statute. Parker II, supra, at 363-364, 779 S. W. 2d, at 157-158 . 2 II Our precedents recognize that the Double Jeopardy Clause bars reprosecution following reversal for insufficiency of the evidence but not following reversal for trial error.