Private Action cases at the Supreme Court

Disputes between private parties on matters such as property, contracts, torts and evidence that reached the Court without a public-law question.

Issues in this area

Number of decisions SCDB assigns to each specific issue. Issues with at least 5 decisions have their own page.

Decisions that altered precedent or struck down a law (1)

• Howard K. Stern v. Elaine T. MarshallLaw held unconstitutional
  564 U.S. 462Decided June 23, 20115–4John G. Roberts Jr.

Most recent decisions

• Great Lakes Insurance Se v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC
  601 U.S. 65Decided February 21, 20249–0Brett M. Kavanaugh
• Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation
  142 S. Ct. 1502Decided April 21, 20229–0Elena Kagan
• McKesson v. Doe
  141 S. Ct. 48Decided November 2, 20207–1Per curiam
• Air and Liquid Systems Corp. v. Devries
  139 S. Ct. 986Decided March 19, 20196–3Brett M. Kavanaugh
• CNH Industrial Nv v. Reese
  138 S. Ct. 761Decided February 20, 20189–0Per curiam
• Brandt Trust v. United States
  572 U.S. 93Decided March 10, 20148–1John G. Roberts Jr.
• Howard K. Stern v. Elaine T. MarshallLaw held unconstitutional
  564 U.S. 462Decided June 23, 20115–4John G. Roberts Jr.

Search all 7 Private Action decisions

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