Cotton Petroleum Corporation v. New Mexico

490 U.S. 163, 109 S.Ct. 1698, 104 L.Ed.2d.209 (1989)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
C
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Cotton Petroleum Corporation v. New Mexico

United States Supreme Court
490 U.S. 163, 109 S.Ct. 1698, 104 L.Ed.2d.209 (1989)

  • Written by Lauren Groth, JD
Play video

Facts

The Jicarilla Apache Tribe in New Mexico operated numerous on-reservation oil and gas leases under the Indian Mineral Leasing Act of 1938 (IMLA), 25 U.S.C. § 396. Cotton Petroleum Corporation (Cotton) (plaintiff) was a non-Indian company that produced oil and gas under a lease with the Apache Tribe. Beginning in 1972, the Apache Tribe assessed an 8 percent tax on the oil and gas extracted by Cotton. This tax was contested but upheld by the United States Supreme Court. The State of New Mexico (defendant) also levied a state tax on oil and gas production extracted on the reservation. Cotton challenged New Mexico’s tax in state court. Cotton argued that New Mexico should not be allowed to tax oil and gas production on an Indian reservation because New Mexico did not expend significant resources to support such production. The Apache Tribe intervened, arguing that imposition of state taxes interfered with tribal taxes on oil and gas and decreased Apache Tribe revenues by discouraging companies from working on the reservation. The New Mexico state courts upheld the state tax. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Stevens, J.)

Dissent (Blackmun, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 804,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Indian Law
Natural Resources

Key Terms