Gloria Gail Kurns, Executrix of the Estate of George M. Corson, Deceased, et al., Petitioners v. Railroad Friction Products Corporation et al.

Decided February 29, 2012. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 10-879 · 565 U.S. 625 (2012) · Cited 135 times

Holding

Petitioners’ state-law design-defect and failure-to-warn claims fall within the field of locomotive equipment regulation pre-empted by the LIA, as that field was defined in Napier v.

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 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.

• Napier v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad · 272 U.S. 605 (1926)
• English v. General Electric Co. · 496 U.S. 72 (1990)
• Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council · 530 U.S. 363 (2000)
• Engine Manufacturers Ass'n v. South Coast Air Quality Management District · 541 U.S. 246 (2004)
• Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick · 514 U.S. 280 (1995)
• New York State Department of Social Services v. Dublino · 413 U.S. 405 (1973)
• San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon · 359 U.S. 236 (1959)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Hillsborough County v. Automated Medical Laboratories, Inc. · 471 U.S. 707 (1985)
• Urie v. Thompson · 337 U.S. 163 (1949)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc. · 552 U.S. 312 (2008)
• Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S. A. · 563 U.S. 754 (2011)
• Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC · 544 U.S. 431 (2005)
• United States v. Locke · 529 U.S. 89 (2000)
• Camps Newfound/Owatonna, Inc. v. Town of Harrison · 520 U.S. 564 (1997)
• Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine · 537 U.S. 51 (2002)
• Hilton v. South Carolina Public Railways Commission · 502 U.S. 197 (1991)
• Goodyear Atomic Corp. v. Miller · 486 U.S. 174 (1988)
• Brown v. Hotel & Restaurant Employees & Bartenders International Union Local 54 · 468 U.S. 491 (1984)

Cited by

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

• Kansas v. Garcia · 589 U.S. 191 (2020)
• Oneok, Inc. v. Learjet, Inc. · 575 U.S. 373 (2015)

Official text

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

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Clarence Thomas’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2012). 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).