Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.

Decided February 21, 1989. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-1346 · 489 U.S. 141 (1989) · Cited 612 times

Holding

The Florida statute is pre-empted by the Supremacy Clause.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Kewanee Oil Co. v. Bicron Corp. · 416 U.S. 470 (1974)
• Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Stiffel Co. · 376 U.S. 225 (1964)
• Lear, Inc. v. Adkins · 395 U.S. 653 (1969)
• Aronson v. Quick Point Pencil Co. · 440 U.S. 257 (1979)
• Compco Corp. v. Day-Brite Lighting, Inc. · 376 U.S. 234 (1964)
• Graham v. John Deere Co. of Kansas City · 383 U.S. 1 (1966)
• Kellogg Co. v. National Biscuit Co. · 305 U.S. 111 (1938)
• Goldstein v. California · 412 U.S. 546 (1973)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul · 373 U.S. 132 (1963)
• United States v. Bass · 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
• Inwood Laboratories, Inc. v. Ives Laboratories, Inc. · 456 U.S. 844 (1982)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co. · 435 U.S. 151 (1978)
• Diamond v. Chakrabarty · 447 U.S. 303 (1980)
• Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. v. Arkansas Public Service Commission · 461 U.S. 375 (1983)
• United States v. Dubilier Condenser Corp · 289 U.S. 178 (1933)
• Coats v. Merrick Thread Co. · 149 U.S. 562 (1893)

Cited by

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

• Eldred v. Ashcroft · 537 U.S. 186 (2003)
• Helsinn Healthcare S. A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. · 586 U.S. 123 (2019)
• Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
• Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. · 539 U.S. 23 (2003)
• Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc. · 579 U.S. 93 (2016)
• Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC · 576 U.S. 466 (2015)
• Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi · 598 U.S. 594 (2023)
• Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co. · 535 U.S. 722 (2002)
• TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc. · 532 U.S. 23 (2001)
• Chamber of Commerce of United States of America v. Whiting · 563 U.S. 582 (2011)
• Gunn v. Minton · 568 U.S. 251 (2013)
• Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. Partnership · 564 U.S. 91 (2011)
• Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank · 527 U.S. 627 (1999)
• Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc. · 525 U.S. 55 (1998)
• Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings v. Metabolite Laboratories, Inc. · 548 U.S. 124 (2006)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1989). 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).