Comcast Corp. v. National Association of African American-Owned Media
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-1171 | 9th Cir. | Nov 13, 2019 | Mar 23, 2020 | 9-0 | Gorsuch | OT 2019 |
Holding: A plaintiff who sues for racial discrimination in contracting under 42 U.S.C. §"1981 bears the burden of showing that race was a but-for cause of the plaintiff"s injury, and that burden remains constant over the life of the lawsuit.
Judgment: Vacated and remanded, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Gorsuch on March 23, 2020. Justice Ginsburg filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Live blog of orders and opinions (Update: Completed) (Kalvis Golde, March 23, 2020)
- Opinion analysis: Court sends race-discrimination case back to lower courts, requires plaintiff to meet higher bar (Amy Howe, March 23, 2020)
- Argument analysis: Justices debate, but do not resolve, pleading standard for lawsuits alleging racial discrimination in contracts (Amy Howe, November 13, 2019)
- Argument preview: Justices to consider pleading standard for federal law barring discrimination in contracts (Amy Howe, November 7, 2019)
- Five new grants today (Amy Howe, June 10, 2019)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 03/08/2019 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 10, 2019) |
| 04/10/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed. VIDED. |
| 04/10/2019 | Brief of respondents National Association of African American-Owned Media, et al. in opposition filed. |
| 04/29/2019 | Reply of petitioner Comcast Corporation filed. |
| 04/30/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/16/2019. |
| 05/15/2019 | Rescheduled. |
| 05/20/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/23/2019. |
| 05/28/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/30/2019. |
| 06/03/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/6/2019. |
| 06/10/2019 | Petition GRANTED limited to Question 1 presented by the petition. |
| 06/18/2019 | Joint motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed. |
| 06/26/2019 | Joint motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including August 8, 2019. The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including September 23, 2019. |
| 07/08/2019 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. |
| 08/05/2019 | Blanket Consent filed by Respondents, National Association of African American-Owned Media, et al. |
| 08/06/2019 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Comcast Corporation. |
| 08/08/2019 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| 08/08/2019 | Brief of petitioner Comcast Corporation filed. |
| 08/15/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Center for Workplace Compliance filed. |
| 08/15/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Washington Legal Foundation filed. |
| 08/15/2019 | Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed. |
| 08/15/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of United States filed. |
| 09/03/2019 | CIRCULATED |
| 09/16/2019 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit. |
| 09/17/2019 | Record received from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit is electronic and located on PACER. |
| 09/17/2019 | Record received from the U.S.D.C. Central District of California is electronic and located on PACER. |
| 09/17/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Issues4Life Foundation filed. (Distributed) |
| 09/23/2019 | Brief of respondents National Association of African American-Owned Media, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| 09/26/2019 | Brief amici curiae of Law & History Professors filed. (Distributed) |
| 09/27/2019 | Brief amici curiae of Torts Scholars filed. (Distributed) |
| 09/27/2019 | Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed. |
| 09/30/2019 | Brief amici curiae of NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| 09/30/2019 | Brief amici curiae of Members of Congress filed. (Distributed) |
| 09/30/2019 | Brief amici curiae of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| 09/30/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Professor W. Burlette Carter filed. (Distributed). |
| 09/30/2019 | Brief amici curiae of Employment Law Professors filed. (Distributed) |
| 10/15/2019 | Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED. |
| 10/23/2019 | Reply of petitioner Comcast Corporation filed. (Distributed) |
| 11/13/2019 | Argued. For petitioner: Miguel Estrada, Washington, D. C.; and Morgan L. Ratner, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For respondents: Erwin Chemerinsky, Berkeley, Cal. |
| 03/23/2020 | Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED. Gorsuch, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Breyer, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Kavanaugh, JJ., joined, and in which Ginsburg, J., joined except for the footnote. Ginsburg, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment. |
| 04/24/2020 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |