Gulf Offshore Co. v. Mobil Oil Corp.
453 U.S. 473 · Decided July 1, 1981 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Gulf Offshore Co. v. Mobil Oil Corp. was decided on July 1, 1981 unanimously (8–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part, reversed or vacated it in part, and remanded the case. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 453 U.S. 473 · 101 S. Ct. 2870 · 69 L. Ed. 2d 784 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 41
- Docket number
- 80-590
- Decided
- July 1, 1981
- Argued
- March 31, 1981
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- 43 U.S.C. § 1331
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Did not participate: Potter Stewart.
Full case caption
Gulf Offshore Co., a Division of Pool Co. v. Mobil Oil Corp. et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1980-148, docket 1980-148-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction”
- Arkansas Louisiana Gas Co. v. Hall
- Chicago & North Western Transportation Co. v. Kalo Brick & Tile Co.
- Local 926 v. Jones
- Block v. North Dakota ex Rel. Board of University and School Lands
- Bill Johnson's Restaurants, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
- Belknap, Inc. v. Hale
Cases on the same legal provision: 43 U.S.C. § 1331
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- United States v. California
- Chicago & North Western Transportation Co. v. Kalo Brick & Tile Co.
- Watt v. Alaska
- United States v. Maine
- United States v. Louisiana
- McCarty v. McCarty
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