In the case of Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc., et al., 1977, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Duke Power Company by upholding the constitutionality of a federal law limiting liability for nuclear accidents. The plaintiffs, an environmental group and individuals living near a proposed nuclear power plant site, argued that this limitation on liability would encourage negligence and was thus unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment. They also contended that it violated their rights to "a clean environment" as per Ninth Amendment's unenumerated rights clause. However, the court held (6-3) that there was no violation because Congress had rational reasons for enacting such limits - namely to stimulate private industry participation in nuclear energy production while protecting them from potentially devastating financial consequences due to unforeseen incidents or accidents.

In the dissenting opinion for Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc., Justice William Brennan argued that the Price-Anderson Act, which limited liability in case of a nuclear accident, was unconstitutional because it violated citizens' rights to legal recourse and due process under the Fifth Amendment. He contended that by capping potential damages at an arbitrary figure far below what actual damages might be in a serious nuclear incident, Congress had effectively denied victims their right to just compensation. Furthermore, he criticized the majority's reliance on legislative findings about the necessity of promoting private sector participation in nuclear power as justification for limiting liability; such findings should not override constitutional protections. Finally, Brennan expressed concern over how this decision could set precedent for future cases where Congress may limit corporate liability at expense of individual rights.