Thomas v. Washington Gas Light Co.

This is clearly a case where the whole is less than the sum of its parts. In choosing between two admittedly inconsistent precedents, Magnolia Petroleum Co. v. Hunt, 320 U. S. 430 (1943), and Industrial Comm’n of Wisconsin v. McCartin, 330 U. S. 622 (1947), six of us agree that the latter decision, McCartin, is analytically indefensible. See ante, at 269-272 (plurality opinion); infra, at 291. The remaining three Members of the Court concede that it “rest[s] on questionable foundations.” Ante, at 289 (opinion of White, J., joined by Burger, C. J., and Powell, J.). Nevertheless, when the smoke…