Thomas Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc.
505 U.S. 504 · Decided June 24, 1992 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Thomas Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. was decided on June 24, 1992 by a vote of 7–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part, reversed or vacated it in part, and remanded the case. Justice John Paul Stevens 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
- 505 U.S. 504 · 112 S. Ct. 2608 · 120 L. Ed. 2d 407 · 1992 U.S. LEXIS 4365
- Docket number
- 90-1038
- Decided
- June 24, 1992
- Argued
- October 8, 1991
- Reargued
- January 13, 1992
- Court era
- Rehnquist 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- 15 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 Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Special concurrence | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent |
Full case caption
Thomas Cipollone, Individually and as Executor of the Estate of Rose D. Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1991-108, docket 1991-108-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction”
- CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Lizzie Beatrice Easterwood
- American Dredging Company v. William Robert Miller
- Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. v. Grant T. Norris
- United Steelworkers of America v. Rawson
- Yellow Freight System, Inc. v. Donnelly
- Tafflin v. Levitt
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- United States of America v. State of Alaska on Bill of Complaint
- Keyton E. Barker and Pauline Barker v. Kansas
- Dan Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc.
- New York v. United StatesLaw held unconstitutional
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