Louis W. Sullivan v. Marilyn Finkelstein
496 U.S. 617 · Decided June 18, 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
Louis W. Sullivan v. Marilyn Finkelstein was decided on June 18, 1990 unanimously (9–0). 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 “Review of nonfinal orders” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 496 U.S. 617 · 110 S. Ct. 2658 · 110 L. Ed. 2d 563 · 1990 U.S. LEXIS 3187
- Docket number
- 89-504
- Decided
- June 18, 1990
- Argued
- April 24, 1990
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- 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)
- Review of nonfinal orders
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 1291
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal 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 | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
Louis W. Sullivan, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Marilyn Finkelstein
SCDB identifiers: case 1989-115, docket 1989-115-01.
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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
- Franchise Tax Board of California v. Alcan Aluminium Ltd.
- W. S. Kirkpatrick & Co., Inc. v. Environmental Tectonics Corp.Altered precedent
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