B&b Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Indus., Inc.

Decided March 24, 2015. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 13-352 · 575 U.S. 138 (2015) · Cited 222 times

Holding

So long as the other ordinary elements of issue preclusion are met, when the usages adjudicated by the TTAB are materially the same as those before a district court, issue preclusion should apply.

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 7–2.

“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.

• Astoria Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Solimino · 501 U.S. 104 (1991)
• United States v. Utah Construction & Mining Co. · 384 U.S. 394 (1966)
• University of Tennessee v. Elliott · 478 U.S. 788 (1986)
• Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore · 439 U.S. 322 (1979)
• Montana v. United States · 440 U.S. 147 (1979)
• Stern v. Marshall · 564 U.S. 462 (2011)
• Crowell v. Benson · 285 U.S. 22 (1932)
• Park 'N Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park & Fly, Inc. · 469 U.S. 189 (1985)
• Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. · 575 U.S. 92 (2015)
• United States v. Steffens · 100 U.S. 82 (1879)
• Smith v. Bayer Corp. · 564 U.S. 299 (2011)
• Hopkins v. Lee · 19 U.S. 109 (1821)
• Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Assn. of United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. · 463 U.S. 29 (1983)
• New Hampshire v. Maine · 532 U.S. 742 (2001)
• Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. · 458 U.S. 50 (1982)
• Federated Department Stores, Inc. v. Moitie · 452 U.S. 394 (1981)
• Kremer v. Chemical Construction Corp. · 456 U.S. 461 (1982)
• Dairy Queen, Inc. v. Wood · 369 U.S. 469 (1962)
• Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. · 514 U.S. 211 (1995)
• Estep v. United States · 327 U.S. 114 (1946)
• CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries · 553 U.S. 442 (2008)
• Sunshine Anthracite Coal Co. v. Adkins · 310 U.S. 381 (1940)
• Baldwin v. Iowa State Traveling Men's Assn. · 283 U.S. 522 (1931)
• Baker v. General Motors Corp. · 522 U.S. 222 (1998)
• Tait v. Western Maryland Railway Co. · 289 U.S. 620 (1933)
• United States v. Stauffer Chemical Co. · 464 U.S. 165 (1984)
• Isbrandtsen Co. v. Johnson · 343 U.S. 779 (1952)
• Ex Parte Bakelite Corp'n. · 279 U.S. 438 (1929)
• Bobby v. Bies · 556 U.S. 825 (2009)
• Hayfield Northern Railroad v. Chicago & North Western Transportation Co. · 467 U.S. 622 (1984)

Cited by

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

• Matal v. Tam · 582 U.S. 218 (2017)
• Michigan v. Envtl. Prot. Agency · 576 U.S. 743 (2015)
• Iancu v. Brunetti · 588 U.S. 388 (2019)
• Herrera v. Wyoming · 587 U.S. 329 (2019)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2015). 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).