Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt
139 S. Ct. 1485 · Decided May 13, 2019 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt was decided on May 13, 2019 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Governmental liability” in the Economic Activity area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
- CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
- Supreme Court of the United States — slip opinions, October Term 2018
- Supreme Court of the United States — docket 17-1299
Case details
- Citations
- 139 S. Ct. 1485 · 203 L. Ed. 2d 768 · 2019 U.S. LEXIS 3399
- Docket number
- 17-1299
- Decided
- May 13, 2019
- Argued
- January 9, 2019
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Governmental liability
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Eleventh Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Dissent | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Dissent | |
| Justice Neil M. Gorsuch | Majority | |
| Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh | Majority |
Full case caption
Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt
SCDB identifiers: case 2018-036, docket 2018-036-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Governmental liability”
- Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Authority
- Republic of Sudan v. Harrison
- Escondido v. Emmons
- Hernandez v. Mesa
- Maine Community Health Options v. United States
- Opati v. Republic of Sudan
Cases on the same legal provision: Eleventh Amendment
- Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson
- Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy v. James W. Stewart III
- Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation v. Pamela L. Hood
- Linda Frew v. Albert Hawkins
- Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority
- Paul D. Lapides v. Board of Regents of the University System of GeorgiaAltered precedent
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Weyerhaeuser Company v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Escondido v. Emmons
- Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer and White Sales Inc.
- Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
- Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com
- Rimini Street Inc. v. Oracle USA Inc.
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