Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Ward

470 U.S. 869 · Decided March 26, 1985 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Ward was decided on March 26, 1985 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “State or local government tax” in the Economic Activity area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. et al. v. Ward et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1984-062, docket 1984-062-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “State or local government tax”

• Kenneth Cory v. Western Oil and Gas Association
  471 U.S. 81Decided March 27, 19854–4
• First National Bank of Atlanta v. Bartow County Board of Tax Assessors
  470 U.S. 583Decided March 19, 19859–0Harry A. Blackmun
• Williams v. VermontLaw held unconstitutional
  472 U.S. 14Decided June 4, 19855–3Byron R. White
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  468 U.S. 263Decided June 29, 19845–3Byron R. White
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Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection)

• Hunter v. UnderwoodLaw held unconstitutional
  471 U.S. 222Decided April 16, 19858–0William H. Rehnquist
• Hooper v. Bernalillo County AssessorLaw held unconstitutional
  472 U.S. 612Decided June 24, 19855–3Warren E. Burger
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
  473 U.S. 432Decided July 1, 19859–0Byron R. White
• Bernal v. FainterLaw held unconstitutional
  467 U.S. 216Decided May 30, 19848–1Thurgood Marshall
• Palmore v. Sidoti
  466 U.S. 429Decided April 24, 19849–0Warren E. Burger
• Batson v. KentuckyAltered precedent
  476 U.S. 79Decided April 30, 19867–2Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

• Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder
  469 U.S. 153Decided January 8, 19855–4John Paul Stevens
• Park 'n Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park and Fly, Inc.
  469 U.S. 189Decided January 8, 19858–1Sandra Day O'Connor
• Ohio v. Kovacs
  469 U.S. 274Decided January 9, 19859–0Byron R. White
• Chemical Manufacturers Association v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
  470 U.S. 116Decided February 27, 19855–4Byron R. White
• Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. v. Byrd
  470 U.S. 213Decided March 4, 19859–0Thurgood Marshall
• Air France v. Saks
  470 U.S. 392Decided March 4, 19858–0Sandra Day O'Connor

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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