Altria Group, Inc., et al. v. Stephanie Good et al.

Decided December 15, 2008. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 07-562 · 555 U.S. 70 (2008) · Cited 665 times

Holding

Neither the Labeling Act’s pre-emption provision nor the Federal Trade Commission’s actions in this field pre-empt respondents’ state-law fraud claim.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly · 533 U.S. 525 (2001)
• Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc. · 552 U.S. 312 (2008)
• Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr · 518 U.S. 470 (1996)
• Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. · 504 U.S. 374 (1992)
• Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC · 544 U.S. 431 (2005)
• American Airlines, Inc. v. Wolens · 513 U.S. 219 (1995)
• Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine · 537 U.S. 51 (2002)
• Payne v. Tennessee · 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
• Jones v. Rath Packing Co. · 430 U.S. 519 (1977)
• Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Ass'n · 552 U.S. 364 (2008)
• Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. · 523 U.S. 75 (1998)
• Texas v. Brown · 460 U.S. 730 (1983)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Safeco Insurance Co. of America v. Burr · 551 U.S. 47 (2007)
• Maryland v. Louisiana · 451 U.S. 725 (1981)
• Buckman Co. v. Plaintiffs' Legal Committee · 531 U.S. 341 (2001)
• Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. · 529 U.S. 861 (2000)
• Nichols v. United States · 511 U.S. 738 (1994)
• Clark v. Martinez · 543 U.S. 371 (2005)
• Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick · 514 U.S. 280 (1995)
• Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. · 551 U.S. 449 (2007)
• CTS Corp. v. Dynamics Corp. of America · 481 U.S. 69 (1987)
• Swift & Co. v. Wickham · 382 U.S. 111 (1965)
• United States v. Locke · 529 U.S. 89 (2000)
• Retail Clerks International Ass'n, Local 1625 v. Schermerhorn · 375 U.S. 96 (1963)
• Girouard v. United States · 328 U.S. 61 (1946)
• Holder v. Hall · 512 U.S. 874 (1994)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc. · 570 U.S. 1 (2013)
• Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
• Cuomo v. Clearing House Ass'n, LLC · 557 U.S. 519 (2009)
• Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC · 562 U.S. 223 (2011)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2008). 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).