West Virginia v. United States (479 U.S. 305)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 13, 1987 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 479 U.S. 305 · 107 S. Ct. 702
- Decided
- January 13, 1987
- Term
- October Term 1986
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Marshall
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court. The issue in this case is whether the State of West Virginia is liable for prejudgment interest on a debt arising from a contractual obligation to reimburse the United States for services rendered by the Army Corps of Engineers. r-H On February 26, 1972, heavy rains and resulting floods caused the collapse of a coal waste dam on Buffalo Creek in southwestern West Virginia. The “Buffalo Creek disaster” caused over 100 deaths and millions of dollars of property damage and left thousands homeless. In August of that year, a series of storms caused widespread flooding and mudslides in the same region of the State. Although there was no additional loss of life, the “Gilbert Creek disaster” caused substantial property damage. The President declared both events “major disasters,” qualifying the affected areas for federal relief under the Disaster Relief Act of 1970, Pub. L. 91-606, 84 Stat. 1744, 42 U. S. C. §4401 (1970 ed.) (DRA or Act), repealed Pub. L. 93-288, 88 Stat. 164. Section 226(a) of the Act authorized the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness to provide temporary housing, typically mobile homes, for persons displaced by the disaster. That section also governed site preparation for the mobile homes. It provided: “Any mobile home or readily fabricated dwelling shall be placed on a site complete with utilities…
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