Fair Assessment in Real Estate Assn., Inc. v. McNary

In this action we are required to reconcile two somewhat intermittent and conflicting lines of authority as to whether a damages action may be brought under 42 U. S. C. § 1988 to redress the allegedly unconstitutional administration of a state tax system. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri held that such suits were barred by both 28 U. S. C. § 1841 (Tax Injunction Act) and the prin*102ciple of comity, and the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed by an equally divided court sitting en banc.1 We granted certiorari to resolve a conflict among the Courts…