Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc., et al.

Decided December 1, 1987. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 86-473 · 484 U.S. 49 (1987) · Cited 955 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 8–0.

“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.

• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• United States v. W. T. Grant Co. · 345 U.S. 629 (1953)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• McNutt v. General Motors Acceptance Corp. · 298 U.S. 178 (1936)
• Saint Paul Mercury Indemnity Co. v. Red Cab Co. · 303 U.S. 283 (1938)
• Consumer Product Safety Commission v. GTE Sylvania, Inc. · 447 U.S. 102 (1980)
• Bender v. Williamsport Area School District · 475 U.S. 534 (1986)
• Linda R. S. v. Richard D. · 410 U.S. 614 (1973)
• Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman · 455 U.S. 363 (1982)
• United States v. Students Challenging Regulatory Agency Procedures (SCRAP) · 412 U.S. 669 (1973)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Land v. Dollar · 330 U.S. 731 (1947)
• Tull v. United States · 481 U.S. 412 (1987)
• United States v. Concentrated Phosphate Export Assn., Inc. · 393 U.S. 199 (1968)
• United States v. Oregon State Medical Society · 343 U.S. 326 (1952)
• Mollan v. Torrance · 22 U.S. 537 (1824)
• Thomson v. Gaskill · 315 U.S. 442 (1942)
• Smith v. Sperling · 354 U.S. 91 (1957)
• KVOS, Inc. v. Associated Press · 299 U.S. 269 (1936)
• Rainwater v. United States · 356 U.S. 590 (1958)
• Combs v. United States · 408 U.S. 224 (1972)

Cited by

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

• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Carr v. United States · 560 U.S. 438 (2010)
• Hallstrom v. Tillamook County · 493 U.S. 20 (1989)
• U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs v. Hawkes Co. · 578 U.S. 590 (2016)
• Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. · 528 U.S. 167 (2000)
• Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center · 568 U.S. 597 (2013)
• Pulsifer v. United States · 601 U.S. 124 (2024)
• United States v. Wilson · 503 U.S. 329 (1992)
• Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc. · 568 U.S. 85 (2013)
• Grupo Dataflux v. Atlas Global Group, L. P. · 541 U.S. 567 (2004)
• Keene Corp. v. United States · 508 U.S. 200 (1993)
• Jerome B. Grubart, Inc. v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. · 513 U.S. 527 (1995)
• City News & Novelty, Inc. v. City of Waukesha · 531 U.S. 278 (2001)
• Brown v. United States · 602 U.S. 101 (2024)
• Hewitt v. United States · 606 U.S. 419 (2025)

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).