United States v. Winstar Corp.

United States v. Winstar Corp.
Supreme Court of the United States
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 Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
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), 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.

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 518
• List of United States Supreme Court cases
• Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
• Savings and loan crisis