American Airlines, Inc. v. Wolens, 513 U.S. 219, 17 (1995)

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Cite as: 513 U. S. 219 (1995)

Opinion of Stevens, J.

be settled "on the basis of one or two cases, but require a closer working out." Pound, Survey of the Conference Problems, 14 U. Cin. L. Rev. 324, 339 (1940) (Conference on the Status of the Rule of Judicial Precedent).

* * *

For the reasons stated, the judgment of the Illinois Supreme Court is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and the case is remanded for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.

It is so ordered.

Justice Scalia took no part in the decision of the case.

Justice Stevens, concurring in part and dissenting in part.

Although I agree with the majority that the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (ADA) does not pre-empt respondents' breach-of-contract claims, I do not agree with the Court's disposition of their consumer-fraud claims. In my opinion, private tort actions based on common-law negligence or fraud, or on a statutory prohibition against fraud, are not pre-empted. Under the broad (and in my opinion incorrect 1) interpretation of the words "law . . . relating to rates, routes, or services" that the Court adopted in Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 504 U. S. 374 (1992), direct state regulation of airline advertising is pre-empted; but I would not extend the holding of that case to embrace the private claims that respondents assert in this case.

Unlike the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) guidelines reviewed in Morales, the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (Consumer Fraud Act) does not instruct the airlines about how they can market their services. Instead, it merely requires

1 See Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 504 U. S. 374, 419-427 (1992) (dissenting opinion).

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