California v. Southland Royalty Co.

436 U.S. 519 · Decided May 31, 1978 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

California v. Southland Royalty Co. was decided on May 31, 1978 by a vote of 4–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Gas producer regulation” in the Economic Activity area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: Potter Stewart, Lewis F. Powell Jr..

Full case caption

California et al. v. Southland Royalty Co. et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1977-097, docket 1977-097-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Gas producer regulation”

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  439 U.S. 508Decided January 16, 19797–0Byron R. White
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  440 U.S. 192Decided February 22, 19794–4
• Federal Power Commission v. Moss
  424 U.S. 494Decided March 3, 19766–0William J. Brennan Jr.
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  417 U.S. 283Decided June 10, 19747–0William J. Brennan Jr.
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  417 U.S. 380Decided June 10, 19748–0Byron R. White
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  486 U.S. 204Decided May 31, 19888–0William J. Brennan Jr.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Natural Gas Act or Natural Gas Policy Act

• United Gas Pipe Line Co. v. McCombs
  442 U.S. 529Decided June 18, 19798–0Thurgood Marshall
• Federal Power Commission v. Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp.
  423 U.S. 326Decided January 19, 19767–0Per curiam
• Arkansas Louisiana Gas Co. v. Hall
  453 U.S. 571Decided July 2, 19815–3Thurgood Marshall
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  463 U.S. 319Decided June 28, 19835–4John Paul Stevens
• Federal Power Commission v. Louisiana Power & Light Co.
  406 U.S. 621Decided June 7, 19727–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. v. State Oil and Gas Board of Mississippi
  474 U.S. 409Decided January 22, 19865–4Harry A. Blackmun

Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

• County Board of Arlington County v. Richards
  434 U.S. 5Decided October 11, 19778–1Per curiam
• Southern Overlying Carrier Chapter of the California Dump Truck Owners Association v. Public Utilities Commission of California
  434 U.S. 9Decided October 11, 19778–1Per curiam
• Adamo Wrecking Co. v. United States
  434 U.S. 275Decided January 10, 19785–4William H. Rehnquist
• Pfizer Inc. v. Government of India
  434 U.S. 308Decided January 11, 19785–3Potter Stewart
• Carter v. MillerLaw held unconstitutional
  434 U.S. 356Decided January 17, 19784–4
• Raymond Motor Transportation, Inc. v. RiceLaw held unconstitutional
  434 U.S. 429Decided February 21, 19788–0Lewis F. Powell Jr.

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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