Wallis v. Pan American Petroleum Corp.
384 U.S. 63 · Decided April 25, 1966 · 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
Wallis v. Pan American Petroleum Corp. was decided on April 25, 1966 by a vote of 8–1. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John M. Harlan II wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal preemption of state legislation or regulation” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 384 U.S. 63 · 86 S. Ct. 1301 · 16 L. Ed. 2d 369 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 2766
- Docket number
- 341
- Decided
- April 25, 1966
- Argued
- February 23, 1966
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- John M. Harlan II
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- 30 U.S.C. § 181
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
Wallis v. Pan American Petroleum Corp. et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-093, docket 1965-093-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state legislation or regulation”
- Local 20 v. Morton
- Northern Natural Gas Co. v. State Corporation Commission of Kansas
- Ex Parte George
- First National Bank in Plant City v. Dickinson
- Campbell v. Hussey
- Kolovrat v. Oregon
Cases on the same legal provision: 30 U.S.C. § 181
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Hanna Mining Co. v. District 2
- United States v. Louisiana
- United States v. Yazell
- United States v. California
- Linn v. United Plant Guard Workers of America
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