Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Flight Attendants

Background

An airline and a flight attendants’ union fought a legal dispute that reached the Supreme Court after the Eighth Circuit ruled on the case. The Court granted review, heard argument on January 12, 1988, and issued its decision on March 2, 1988. Lawyers for both sides argued the matter, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations filed a brief urging affirmance while some individual flight attendants filed briefs urging reversal.

Reasoning

The Supreme Court issued a short per curiam statement: "The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is affirmed by an equally divided Court." Because the Justices were evenly split, the Court did not produce a majority opinion explaining its reasoning. The opinion also notes that one Justice, Justice Kennedy, did not take part in the consideration or decision of the case.

Real world impact

Practically, the result leaves the Eighth Circuit’s judgment in effect for the parties involved — the airline and the flight attendants’ union — and resolves this dispute in the same way as the appeals court did. The Supreme Court’s split vote did not produce an explained, majority opinion from the Justices, so the decision maintains the lower-court outcome without adding a new, broadly explained Supreme Court rule. The underlying legal questions were not resolved by a majority of the Justices.