Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton
Decided June 5, 2017. Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 16-74 · 581 U.S. 468 (2017) · Cited 97 times
Holding
A plan maintained by a principal-purpose organization qualifes as a “church plan,” regardless of who established it.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 8–0.
Majority · 7
- Elena Kagan · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Clarence Thomas
- John Glover Roberts Jr.
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Samuel A. Alito Jr.
- Stephen Gerald Breyer
Concurring · 1
- Sonia Sotomayor · filed a concurring opinion
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Williams v. Taylor · 529 U.S. 362 (2000)
- New York State Conference of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Plans v. Travelers Insurance · 514 U.S. 645 (1995)
- LOCKHEED CORP. Et Al. v. SPINK · 517 U.S. 882 (1996)
- Lozano v. Montoya Alvarez · 572 U.S. 1 (2014)
- Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. v. SW Gen., Inc. · 580 U.S. 288 (2017)
- United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Home Depot U. S. A., Inc. v. Jackson · 587 U.S. 435 (2019)
- Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media · 588 U.S. 427 (2019)
- Azar v. Allina Health Services · 587 U.S. 566 (2019)
Explore from here
Elena Kagan’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2017). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).