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
- Opinion analysis: Court sends race-discrimination case back to lower courts, requires plaintiff to meet higher bar (Amy Howe, March 23, 2020)
- Live blog of orders and opinions (Update: Completed) (Kalvis Golde, 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 |
|---|---|
| Mar 08 2019 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 10, 2019) |
| Apr 10 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed. VIDED. |
| Apr 10 2019 | Brief of respondents National Association of African American-Owned Media, et al. in opposition filed. |
| Apr 29 2019 | Reply of petitioner Comcast Corporation filed. |
| Apr 30 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/16/2019. |
| May 15 2019 | Rescheduled. |
| May 20 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/23/2019. |
| May 28 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/30/2019. |
| Jun 03 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/6/2019. |
| Jun 10 2019 | Petition GRANTED limited to Question 1 presented by the petition. |
| Jun 18 2019 | Joint motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed. |
| Jun 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. |
| Jul 08 2019 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. |
| Aug 05 2019 | Blanket Consent filed by Respondents, National Association of African American-Owned Media, et al. |
| Aug 06 2019 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Comcast Corporation. |
| Aug 08 2019 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| Aug 08 2019 | Brief of petitioner Comcast Corporation filed. |
| Aug 15 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Center for Workplace Compliance filed. |
| Aug 15 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Washington Legal Foundation filed. |
| Aug 15 2019 | Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed. |
| Aug 15 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of United States filed. |
| Sep 03 2019 | CIRCULATED |
| Sep 16 2019 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit. |
| Sep 17 2019 | Record received from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit is electronic and located on PACER. |
| Sep 17 2019 | Record received from the U.S.D.C. Central District of California is electronic and located on PACER. |
| Sep 17 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Issues4Life Foundation filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 23 2019 | Brief of respondents National Association of African American-Owned Media, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 26 2019 | Brief amici curiae of Law & History Professors filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2019 | Brief amici curiae of Torts Scholars filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2019 | Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed. |
| Sep 30 2019 | Brief amici curiae of NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 30 2019 | Brief amici curiae of Members of Congress filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 30 2019 | Brief amici curiae of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 30 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Professor W. Burlette Carter filed. (Distributed). |
| Sep 30 2019 | Brief amici curiae of Employment Law Professors filed. (Distributed) |
| Oct 15 2019 | Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED. |
| Oct 23 2019 | Reply of petitioner Comcast Corporation filed. (Distributed) |
| Nov 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. |
| Mar 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. |
| Apr 24 2020 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |
