United States v. Winstar Corporation, et al. (518 U.S. 839)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided July 1, 1996 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 518 U.S. 839 · 116 S. Ct. 2432
- Decided
- July 1, 1996
- Term
- October Term 1995
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Souter
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Souter announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which Justice Stevens and Justice Breyer join, and in which Justice O’Connor joins except as to Parts IV-A and IV-B. The issue in this case is the enforceability of contracts between the Government and participants in a regulated industry, to accord them particular regulatory treatment in exchange for their assumption of liabilities that threatened to produce claims against the Government as insurer. Although Congress subsequently changed the relevant law, and thereby barred the Government from specifically honoring its agreements, we hold that the terms assigning the risk of regulatory change to the Government are enforceable, and that the Government is therefore liable in damages for breach. hH We said in Fahey v. Mallonee, 332 U. S. 245, 250 (1947), that “[blanking is one of the longest regulated and most closely supervised of public callings.” That is particularly true of the savings and loan, or “thrift,” industry, which has been described as “a federally-conceived and assisted system to provide citizens with affordable housing funds.” H. R. Rep. No. 101-54, pt. 1, p. 292 (1989) (House Report). Because the contracts at issue in today’s case arise out of the National Government’s efforts over the last decade and a half to preserve that system from collapse, we begin with an overview of the…
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