Department of Revenue of Oregon v. Acf Industries, Inc., et al.

Decided January 24, 1994. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 92-74 · 510 U.S. 332 (1994) · Cited 313 times

Holding

Section 11503 does not limit the States’ discretion to exempt nonrailroad property, but not railroad property, from generally applicable ad valorem property taxes.

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 8–1.

“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.

• Davis v. Michigan Department of the Treasury · 489 U.S. 803 (1989)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• Burlington Northern Railroad v. Oklahoma Tax Commission · 481 U.S. 454 (1987)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• United Sav. Assn. of Tex. v. Timbers of Inwood Forest Associates, Ltd. · 484 U.S. 365 (1988)
• Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc. · 458 U.S. 564 (1982)
• Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Assn. · 505 U.S. 88 (1992)
• Atlantic Cleaners & Dyers, Inc. v. United States · 286 U.S. 427 (1932)
• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias · 468 U.S. 263 (1984)
• Helvering v. Stockholms Enskilda Bank · 293 U.S. 84 (1934)
• Sorenson v. Secretary of the Treasury · 475 U.S. 851 (1986)
• Demarest v. Manspeaker · 498 U.S. 184 (1991)
• Tully v. Griffin, Inc. · 429 U.S. 68 (1976)
• Armco Inc. v. Hardesty · 467 U.S. 638 (1984)
• Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Pueblo of Santa Ana · 472 U.S. 237 (1985)
• Railroad Co. v. Peniston · 85 U.S. 5 (1873)
• Braniff Airways, Inc. v. Nebraska State Board of Equalization & Assessment · 347 U.S. 590 (1954)
• R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Durham County · 479 U.S. 130 (1986)

Cited by

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

• King v. Burwell · 576 U.S. 473 (2015)
• Law v. Siegel · 571 U.S. 415 (2014)
• Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, Ltd. · 566 U.S. 560 (2012)
• Gustafson v. Alloyd Co. · 513 U.S. 561 (1995)
• Barnhart v. Walton · 535 U.S. 212 (2002)
• El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd. v. Tsui Yuan Tseng · 525 U.S. 155 (1999)
• Shalala v. Whitecotton · 514 U.S. 268 (1995)
• Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. · 568 U.S. 519 (2013)

Official text

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

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Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1994). 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).