California v. Arc America Corp.
490 U.S. 93 · Decided April 18, 1989 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
California v. Arc America Corp. was decided on April 18, 1989 unanimously (7–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal preemption of state legislation or regulation” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 490 U.S. 93 · 109 S. Ct. 1661 · 104 L. Ed. 2d 86 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 2024
- Docket number
- 87-1862
- Decided
- April 18, 1989
- Argued
- February 27, 1989
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Did not participate: John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor.
Full case caption
California et al. v. Arc America Corp. et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1988-072, docket 1988-072-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state legislation or regulation”
- Mansell v. Mansell
- Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
- Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Shell Oil Company v. Iowa Department of Revenue
- Felder v. Casey
- Mackey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc.
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Shell Oil Company v. Iowa Department of Revenue
- Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
- Davis v. Michigan Department of the TreasuryLaw held unconstitutional
- Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Graham
- Mansell v. Mansell
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error