City of Columbus, et al. v. Ours Garage and Wrecker Service, Inc., et al.

Decided June 20, 2002. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 01-419 · 536 U.S. 424 (2002) · Cited 272 times

Holding

Section 14501(c) does not bar a State from delegating to municipalities and other local units the State’s authority to establish safety regulations governing motor carriers of property, including tow trucks.

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.

• Wisconsin Public Intervenor v. Mortier · 501 U.S. 597 (1991)
• Russello v. United States · 464 U.S. 16 (1983)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr · 518 U.S. 470 (1996)
• Duncan v. Walker · 533 U.S. 167 (2001)
• CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Easterwood · 507 U.S. 658 (1993)
• Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal Co. · 534 U.S. 438 (2002)
• United States v. Gonzales · 520 U.S. 1 (1997)
• Hess v. Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation · 513 U.S. 30 (1994)
• Hohn v. United States · 524 U.S. 236 (1998)
• Holt Civic Club v. City of Tuscaloosa · 439 U.S. 60 (1978)
• Lawrence County v. Lead-Deadwood School District No. 40-1 · 469 U.S. 256 (1985)

Cited by

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

• Dan's City Used Cars, Inc. v. Pelkey · 569 U.S. 251 (2013)
• Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Ass'n · 552 U.S. 364 (2008)
• Empire Healthchoice Assurance, Inc. v. McVeigh · 547 U.S. 677 (2006)
• Clay v. United States · 537 U.S. 522 (2003)
• Nixon v. Missouri Municipal League · 541 U.S. 125 (2004)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2002). 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).