Bp America Production Company, Successor in Interest to Amoco Production Company, et al. v. Rejane Burton, Acting Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management, Department of the Interior, et al.
Decided December 11, 2006. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 05-669 · 549 U.S. 84 (2006) · Cited 179 times
Holding
Section 2415(a)’s 6-year statute of limitations applies only to court actions, not to the administrative payment orders involved in this case.
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 7–0.
Majority · 7
- Samuel A. Alito Jr. · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Antonin Scalia
- Clarence Thomas
- David Hackett Souter
- John Paul Stevens
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“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.
- West v. Gibson · 527 U.S. 212 (1999)
- Pennsylvania v. Delaware Valley Citizens' Council for Clean Air · 478 U.S. 546 (1986)
- Bowers v. New York & Albany Lighterage Co. · 273 U.S. 346 (1927)
- Guaranty Trust Co. v. United States · 304 U.S. 126 (1938)
- Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 529 U.S. 120 (2000)
- Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
- TRW Inc. v. Andrews · 534 U.S. 19 (2001)
- Perrin v. United States · 444 U.S. 37 (1979)
- E. I. Dupont De Nemours & Co. v. Davis · 264 U.S. 456 (1924)
- Unexcelled Chemical Corp. v. United States · 345 U.S. 59 (1953)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Sebelius v. Cloer · 569 U.S. 369 (2013)
- Department of Transportation v. Association of American Railroads · 575 U.S. 43 (2015)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2006). 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).