Franchise Tax Board of California v. Alcan Aluminium Ltd.
493 U.S. 331 · Decided January 10, 1990 · 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
Franchise Tax Board of California v. Alcan Aluminium Ltd. was decided on January 10, 1990 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Comity, removal cases and foreign tribunals” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 493 U.S. 331 · 110 S. Ct. 661 · 107 L. Ed. 2d 696 · 1990 U.S. LEXIS 337
- Docket number
- 88-1400
- Decided
- January 10, 1990
- Argued
- November 1, 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Comity, removal cases and foreign tribunals
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- 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 John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
Franchise Tax Board of California et al. v. Alcan Aluminium Ltd. et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1989-019, docket 1989-019-01.
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Cases on the same legal provision: Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
- Fw/pbs, Inc. v. City of DallasLaw held unconstitutional
- Holland v. Illinois
- Washington v. Walter Harper
- United States Department of Labor v. Triplett
- Whitmore v. Arkansas
- United States v. Montalvo-Murillo
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- James M. White, Etc. v. United States
- Pavelic & Leflore v. Marvel Entertainment Group
- Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. v. Richard Sperling
- Spallone v. United States
- W. S. Kirkpatrick & Co., Inc. v. Environmental Tectonics Corp.Altered precedent
- Elizabeth Dole v. United Steelworkers of America
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