Doug Decker, in His Official Capacity as Oregon State Forester, et al., Petitioners v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center;

Decided March 20, 2013. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 11-338 · 568 U.S. 597 (2013) · Cited 334 times

Holding

The federal anti-lien provision pre-empts North Carolina’s irrebuttable statutory presumption that one-third of a tort recovery is attributable to medical expenses.

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 7–1.

“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.

• Auer v. Robbins · 519 U.S. 452 (1997)
• Bowles v. Seminole Rock & Sand Co. · 325 U.S. 410 (1945)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Thomas Jefferson University v. Shalala · 512 U.S. 504 (1994)
• Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc. · 484 U.S. 49 (1987)
• Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corporation · 549 U.S. 561 (2007)
• Talk America, Inc. v. Michigan Bell Telephone Co. · 564 U.S. 50 (2011)
• Barnhart v. Thomas · 540 U.S. 20 (2003)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Cutter v. Wilkinson · 544 U.S. 709 (2005)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan · 293 U.S. 388 (1935)
• Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 · 567 U.S. 298 (2012)
• Martin v. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission · 499 U.S. 144 (1991)
• United States v. Larionoff · 431 U.S. 864 (1977)
• Smiley v. Citibank (South Dakota), N. A. · 517 U.S. 735 (1996)
• Christopher v. Smithkline Beecham Corp. · 567 U.S. 142 (2012)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 520 U.S. 180 (1997)
• Environmental Protection Agency v. California Ex Rel. State Water Resources Control Board · 426 U.S. 200 (1976)
• United States Department of Energy v. Ohio · 503 U.S. 607 (1992)
• Chase Bank USA, N. A. v. McCoy · 562 U.S. 195 (2011)
• United States v. Juvenile Male · 564 U.S. 261 (2011)

Cited by

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

• Kisor v. Wilkie · 588 U.S. 558 (2019)
• Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. · 575 U.S. 92 (2015)
• Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo · 603 U.S. 369 (2024)

Official text

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

Explore from here

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

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2013). 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).