Borden Ranch Partnership and Angelo K. Tsakopoulos v. United States Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency
537 U.S. 99 · Decided December 16, 2002 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Borden Ranch Partnership and Angelo K. Tsakopoulos v. United States Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency was decided on December 16, 2002 by a vote of 4–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. The Justices were equally divided, which leaves the lower court's judgment in place without setting precedent. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Natural resources and environmental protection” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 537 U.S. 99 · 123 S. Ct. 599 · 154 L. Ed. 2d 508 · 2002 U.S. LEXIS 9430
- Docket number
- 01-1243
- Decided
- December 16, 2002
- Argued
- December 10, 2002
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Equally divided vote
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 4–4
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Natural resources and environmental protection
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act)
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Equally divided vote | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Equally divided vote | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Equally divided vote | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Equally divided vote | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Equally divided vote | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Equally divided vote | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Equally divided vote | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Equally divided vote |
Did not participate: Anthony M. Kennedy.
Full case caption
Borden Ranch Partnership and Angelo K. Tsakopoulos v. United States Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-011, docket 2002-011-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Natural resources and environmental protection”
- Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation v. Environmental Protection Agency
- South Florida Water Management District v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians
- Bedroc Limited, LLC v. United States
- Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen
- Gale Norton v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
- Christine Todd Whitman v. American Trucking Associations, Inc.
Cases on the same legal provision: Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act)
- Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (Toc), Inc.
- Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker
- Entergy Corporation v. Riverkeeper, Inc.
- City of Burlington v. Ernest Dague, Sr.
- United States Department of Energy v. Ohio
- National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Yellow Transportation, Inc. v. Michigan
- Karen Howsam, Etc. v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.
- Pierce County v. Ignacio Guillen
- Eric Eldred v. John D. Ashcroft
- Federal Communications Commission v. Nextwave Personal Communications Inc.
- Victor Moseley and Cathy Moseley v. V Secret Catalogue, Inc.
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error