United States v. Winstar Corp.

United States v. Winstar Corp.

Argued April 24, 1996
Decided July 1, 1996
Full case name United States v. Winstar Corp., et al.
Citations

518 U.S. 839 (more)

116 S.Ct. 2432; 135 L.Ed.2d 964
Prior history Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Holding
Waivers of sovereign power generally must be surrendered in unmistakable terms.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Case opinions
Plurality Souter, joined by Stevens, Breyer, O'Connor
Concurrence Scalia, joined by Kennedy, Thomas
Dissent Rehnquist, joined by Ginsburg

United States v. Winstar Corp., 518 U.S. 839 (1996),[1] was a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that the United States Government had breached its contractual obligations. Winstar rejected the Government's “unmistakability defense”—that surrenders of sovereign authority, such as the promise to refrain from regulatory changes, must appear in unmistakable terms in a contract in order to be enforceable.

Winstar arose as a consequence of the savings and loan crisis. Federal regulators extended generous tax incentives to financial institutions that took over failing thrifts—Congress later substantially changed these advantages and one of the successor banks successfully sued. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found a breach of contract and awarded damages—the Supreme Court upheld the lower court decision. Winstar cases are still in litigation with multimillion-dollar payouts to the plaintiffs.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ United State v. Winstar Corp. et al., 518 U.S. 839 (1996). Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2010-02-12

See also

Further reading


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