Norfolk & Western Railway Company v. Freeman Ayers
538 U.S. 135 · Decided March 10, 2003 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Norfolk & Western Railway Company v. Freeman Ayers was decided on March 10, 2003 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Election of remedies” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 538 U.S. 135 · 123 S. Ct. 1210 · 155 L. Ed. 2d 261 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 1956
- Docket number
- 01-963
- Decided
- March 10, 2003
- Argued
- November 6, 2002
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Election of remedies
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Federal Employers' Liability 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 | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent |
Full case caption
Norfolk & Western Railway Company v. Freeman Ayers et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-032, docket 2002-032-01.
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Other cases on “Election of remedies”
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Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Employers' Liability Act
- Norfolk Southern Railway Company v. Timothy Sorrell
- CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Thurston Hensley
- CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Robert McBride
- Kenneth Hilton v. South Carolina Public Railways Commission
- United States v. Marcus S. Smith
- St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co. v. Dickerson
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Yellow Transportation, Inc. v. Michigan
- Karen Howsam, Etc. v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.
- Borden Ranch Partnership and Angelo K. Tsakopoulos v. United States Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency
- Pierce County v. Ignacio Guillen
- Eric Eldred v. John D. Ashcroft
- Federal Communications Commission v. Nextwave Personal Communications 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