Return Mail Inc. v. U.S. Postal Service
139 S. Ct. 1853 · Decided June 10, 2019 · 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
Return Mail Inc. v. U.S. Postal Service was decided on June 10, 2019 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Patents” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
- CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
- Supreme Court of the United States — slip opinions, October Term 2018
- Supreme Court of the United States — docket 17-1594
Case details
- Citations
- 139 S. Ct. 1853 · 204 L. Ed. 2d 179 · 2019 U.S. LEXIS 4028
- Docket number
- 17-1594
- Decided
- June 10, 2019
- Argued
- February 19, 2019
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Patents
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 35 U.S.C. 100
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Dissent | |
| Justice Neil M. Gorsuch | Majority | |
| Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh | Majority |
Full case caption
Return Mail Inc. v. U.S. Postal Service
SCDB identifiers: case 2018-041, docket 2018-041-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Patents”
- Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
- Thryv v. Click-To-Call Technologies, Lp
- Westerngeco LLC v. Ion Geophysical Corp.
- Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC
- Sas Institute Inc. v. Iancu
- Sandoz Inc. v. Amgen Inc.
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Weyerhaeuser Company v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Escondido v. Emmons
- Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer and White Sales Inc.
- Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
- Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com
- Rimini Street Inc. v. Oracle USA 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