Philip Morris USA v. Mayola Williams
549 U.S. 346 · Decided February 20, 2007 · 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
Philip Morris USA v. Mayola Williams was decided on February 20, 2007 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Punitive damages” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 549 U.S. 346 · 127 S. Ct. 1057 · 166 L. Ed. 2d 940 · 2007 U.S. LEXIS 1332
- Docket number
- 05-1256
- Decided
- February 20, 2007
- Argued
- October 31, 2006
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Punitive damages
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
Philip Morris USA v. Mayola Williams, Personal Representative of the Estate of Jesse D. Williams, Deceased
SCDB identifiers: case 2006-017, docket 2006-017-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Punitive damages”
- Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker
- Atlantic Sounding Co., Inc. v. Edgar L. Townsend
- State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Inez Preece Campbell and Matthew C. Barneck
- Kay Barnes, Etc. v. Jeffrey Gorman
- Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Leatherman Tool Group, Inc.
- Paroline v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Eric Michael Clark v. Arizona
- Bobby Lee Holmes v. South Carolina
- Gary Kent Jones v. Linda K. FlowersLaw held unconstitutional
- Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales
- Margaret Bradshaw v. John David Stumpf
- Reginald A. Wilkinson v. Charles E. Austin
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Norfolk Southern Railway Company v. Timothy Sorrell
- Weyerhaeuser Company v. Ross-Simmons Hardwood Lumber Company, Inc.
- Robert Louis Marrama v. Citizens Bank of Massachusetts
- Rockwell International Corp. v. United States
- Alicia G. Limtiaco v. Felix P. Camacho
- Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corporation
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