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Supreme Court · Decisions

Sun Oil Co. v. Federal Power Commission

364 U.S. 170 · No. 321 · 1959 term · Warren Court

Decided Jun 27, 1960 · argued Apr 26, 1960

Economic activity · Federal and some few state regulation of public utilities regulation: gas producer

Majority opinion: William Brennan

The voteMajorityDissent

5–45 in the majority, 4 in dissent

4 dissents (5–4)

Affirmed. Sun Oil Co. lost.

What this ruling means

Affirmed: the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, so it stands (sometimes with changes the Court made to it).

Sun Oil Co. was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Lost” means the Court did not give that side the result it asked for.

From the Supreme Court Database. A justice who agreed with the result but not the reasoning counts in the majority.

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Summary

The opening of the case’s Wikipedia article: what the case was about and what the Court held.

Wikipedia has no article on this case, so there is no summary.

Data notes

The text is Wikipedia’s (CC BY-SA 4.0), matched to the case by its citation, docket number or name and year, and is not checked against the opinion. The site keeps the article’s opening section, ending on its last full sentence. The one-sentence summary under the title is the Decisions list’s: Wikipedia’s own ruling sentence, or, tagged “AI-written”, one Claude wrote from this opening.

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How the justices voted

Each justice who took part, placed by their Martin–Quinn ideology score for the 1959 term. Filled: the 5 in the majority. Hollow: the 4 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.

More liberalMore conservativeMedianDouglasBlackWarrenBrennanClarkStewartWhittakerHarlanFrankfurter

Majority(5)

Dissent(4)

Data notes

Each justice’s vote and what they wrote are from the justice-centered file of the Supreme Court Database. “Wrote a concurrence” means the justice sided with the majority and wrote separately; a justice who dissented in part is counted on the side they took overall. A justice who wrote nothing is listed as joining their side.

Positions are each justice’s Martin–Quinn score for the case’s term, the same scores as the Ideology page: negative is more liberal, positive more conservative. A score sums up a justice’s votes across the whole term, so it says where they usually sit, not why they voted as they did here. The median line is the Court’s median justice that term.

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The parties

Who brought the case to the Court, who answered it, and how it got there.

Petitioner
Sun Oil Co.Oil company, or natural gas producer
Respondent
Federal Power CommissionFederal Power Commission
Reached the Court by
Certiorari (the Court chose to hear it)
Data notes

The names are the two sides of the case’s title. The description under each is the Supreme Court Database’s category for that party, in its own wording. The petitioner is the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the decision below. “Why it was taken” appears only when the majority opinion says lower courts disagreed or were unsure about the question; reasons that would fit any case (“to resolve the question presented”, “an important question”) are left out.

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The law at issue

The law the Court was asked to apply, and the kind of power it used to decide.

Provision
Natural Gas, or Natural Gas Policy Acts
Kind of law
Federal Statute
Decided by
Interpretation of administrative regulation or rule, or executive order; Statutory construction
Data notes

The Supreme Court Database codes the main constitutional provision, statute or court rule each case turned on, and the basis of the decision: judicial review of a federal or state law, interpreting a statute, supervising the lower courts, and so on. A case can rest on more than one. “Overruled” counts only where the majority opinion says so.

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Timeline

What happened at the Court and how the case got there, newest first.

  1. Jun 27, 1960DecidedDecided · Decided 5–4: affirmed. Sun Oil Co. lost.
  2. Apr 26, 1960ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
  3. Not datedTaken upTaken up · The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case (certiorari).
  4. Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Began in and was decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit: affirmed, with a dissent.
Data notes

From the Supreme Court Database: the court the case began in, the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed and what that court did, how the case came to the Court, and the dates of argument and decision. The database does not date the steps in the lower courts. Court names are the database’s.

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Other decisions on the same issue

25 other argued cases since 1946 on federal and some few state regulation of public utilities regulation: gas producer, newest first.

  1. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Martin Exploration Management Co. et al.486 U.S. 204May 31, 1988 · 486 U.S. 204Economic activity8–0Unanimous band
  2. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Shell Oil Co. et al.440 U.S. 192Feb 22, 1979 · 440 U.S. 192Economic activity4–45–4 band
  3. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Pennzoil Producing Co. et al.439 U.S. 508Jan 16, 1979 · 439 U.S. 508Economic activity7–0Unanimous band
  4. California et al. v. Southland Royalty Co. et al.436 U.S. 519May 31, 1978 · 436 U.S. 519Economic activity4–36–3 band
  5. Federal Power Commission v. Moss et al.424 U.S. 494Mar 3, 1976 · 424 U.S. 494Economic activity6–0Unanimous band
  6. Federal Power Commission v. Texaco Inc. et al.417 U.S. 380Jun 10, 1974 · 417 U.S. 380Economic activity8–0Unanimous band
  7. Mobil Oil Corp. v. Federal Power Commission et al.417 U.S. 283Jun 10, 1974 · 417 U.S. 283Economic activity7–0Unanimous band
  8. Federal Power Commission v. Sunray DX Oil Co. et al.391 U.S. 9May 6, 1968 · 391 U.S. 9Economic activity8–0Unanimous band
  9. Continental Oil Co. et al. v. Federal Power Commission390 U.S. 747May 1, 1968 · 390 U.S. 747Economic activity7–18–1 band
  10. United Gas Pipe Line Co. v. Federal Power Commission et al.385 U.S. 83Nov 14, 1966 · 385 U.S. 83Economic activity9–0Unanimous band
  11. United Gas Improvement Co. et al. v. Callery Properties, Inc., et al.382 U.S. 223Dec 7, 1965 · 382 U.S. 223Economic activity7–18–1 band
  12. Federal Power Commission v. Hunt et al.376 U.S. 515Mar 30, 1964 · 376 U.S. 515Economic activity7–27–2 band
  13. Wisconsin et al. v. Federal Power Commission et al.373 U.S. 294May 20, 1963 · 373 U.S. 294Economic activity5–45–4 band
  14. Pan American Petroleum Corp. v. Superior Court of Delaware for New Castle County et al.366 U.S. 656May 29, 1961 · 366 U.S. 656Economic activity9–0Unanimous band
  15. Sunray Mid-Continent Oil Co. v. Federal Power Commission364 U.S. 137Jun 27, 1960 · 364 U.S. 137Economic activity5–45–4 band
  16. Atlantic Refining Co. et al. v. Public Service Commission of New York et al.360 U.S. 378Jun 22, 1959 · 360 U.S. 378Economic activity9–0Unanimous band
  17. Cities Service Gas Co. v. State Corporation Commission of Kansas et al.355 U.S. 391Jan 20, 1958 · 355 U.S. 391Economic activity9–0Unanimous band
  18. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Louisiana Public Service Commission et al.353 U.S. 368May 13, 1957 · 353 U.S. 368Economic activity8–0Unanimous band
  19. United Gas Pipe Line Co. v. Mobile Gas Service Corp. et al.350 U.S. 332Feb 27, 1956 · 350 U.S. 332Economic activity9–0Unanimous band
  20. Natural Gas Pipeline Co. v. Panoma Corporation et al.349 U.S. 44Apr 11, 1955 · 349 U.S. 44Economic activity7–18–1 band
  21. Federal Power Commission v. Colorado Interstate Gas Co.348 U.S. 492Mar 28, 1955 · 348 U.S. 492Economic activity8–0Unanimous band
  22. Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Wisconsin et al.347 U.S. 672Jun 7, 1954 · 347 U.S. 672Economic activity5–36–3 band

  23. Federal Power Commission v. East Ohio Gas Co. et al.338 U.S. 464Jan 9, 1950 · 338 U.S. 464Economic activity5–27–2 band
  24. Federal Power Commission v. Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. et al.337 U.S. 498Jun 20, 1949 · 337 U.S. 498Economic activity5–36–3 band
  25. Interstate Natural Gas Co., Inc. v. Federal Power Commission et al.331 U.S. 682Jun 16, 1947 · 331 U.S. 682Economic activity9–0Unanimous band
Data notes

Every other orally argued case with a clear vote, from the 1946 term on, that the Supreme Court Database files under the same issue as this one. The database gives each case one issue from a list of about 270 (abortion, search and seizure of vehicles, the death penalty, and so on), whatever law it turned on.

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Official record

Read the full opinion on Justia and the argument audio on Oyez. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.