Estate of Floyd Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Company, et al.

Decided June 22, 1992. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-17 · 505 U.S. 469 (1992) · Cited 719 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“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.

• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Barnhill v. Johnson · 503 U.S. 393 (1992)
• Demarest v. Manspeaker · 498 U.S. 184 (1991)
• Banks v. Chicago Grain Trimmers Assn., Inc. · 390 U.S. 459 (1968)
• Voris v. Eikel · 346 U.S. 328 (1953)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• Bowen v. Georgetown University Hospital · 488 U.S. 204 (1988)
• K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc. · 486 U.S. 281 (1988)
• Martin v. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission · 499 U.S. 144 (1991)
• Atlantic Cleaners & Dyers, Inc. v. United States · 286 U.S. 427 (1932)
• Northeast Marine Terminal Co. v. Caputo · 432 U.S. 249 (1977)
• Sullivan v. Stroop · 496 U.S. 478 (1990)
• Sorenson v. Secretary of the Treasury · 475 U.S. 851 (1986)
• Pittston Coal Group v. Sebben · 488 U.S. 105 (1988)
• National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Boston & Maine Corp. · 503 U.S. 407 (1992)
• Potomac Electric Power Co. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs · 449 U.S. 268 (1980)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Perini North River Associates · 459 U.S. 297 (1983)

Cited by

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

• Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc. · 566 U.S. 93 (2012)
• Star Athletica, L. L. C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc. · 580 U.S. 405 (2017)
• John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance v. Harris Trust & Savings Bank · 510 U.S. 86 (1993)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. · 514 U.S. 122 (1995)
• Robinson v. Shell Oil Co. · 519 U.S. 337 (1997)
• Varity Corp. v. Howe · 516 U.S. 489 (1996)
• Mertens v. Hewitt Associates · 508 U.S. 248 (1993)
• Ratzlaf v. United States · 510 U.S. 135 (1994)
• Hughes Aircraft Co. v. Jacobson · 525 U.S. 432 (1999)
• Reno v. Koray · 515 U.S. 50 (1995)
• Lexecon Inc. v. Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach · 523 U.S. 26 (1998)
• Christopher v. Smithkline Beecham Corp. · 567 U.S. 142 (2012)
• Carter v. United States · 530 U.S. 255 (2000)
• Federal Aviation Administration v. Cooper · 566 U.S. 284 (2012)
• Carcieri v. Salazar · 555 U.S. 379 (2009)
• Howlett v. Birkdale Shipping Co., S.A. · 512 U.S. 92 (1994)
• Dunn v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission · 519 U.S. 465 (1997)
• San Antonio v. Hotels.com, L. P. · 593 U.S. 330 (2021)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).