Pacific Employers Insurance v. Cargill

474 U.S. 909 | SCOTUS | 1985

Dissenting Opinion

Justice White,

dissenting.

In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held, respecting the District Court’s dismissal of a declaratory action, that review is limited to the question of whether the District Court abused its discretion. 751 F. 2d 801, 804 (1985). This standard of review conflicts with that adopted by other Courts of Appeals. See, e. g., Bilbrey v. Brown, 738 F. 2d 1462, 1470 (CA9 1984) (whether a district court properly exercised its discretion to grant declaratory relief is subject to more searching review on appeal than under the “abuse of discretion” standard); International Harvester Co. v. Deere & Co., 623 F. 2d 1207, 1217 (CA7 1980) (a court of appeals, in deciding whether jurisdiction should be taken in a declaratory action, does not defer to the judgment of the district court, but must exercise its own sound discretion). I would grant certiorari to resolve this conflict among the Courts of Appeals.

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Lead Opinion

C. A. 5th Cir. Certiorari denied.

Justice Blackmun took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.