John F. Kowalski, Judge, 26th Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan, et al. v. John C. Tesmer, et al.

Decided December 13, 2004. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 03-407 · 543 U.S. 125 (2004) · Cited 675 times

Holding

A private party who has not been sued under CERCLA § 106 or § 107(a) may not obtain contribution under § 113(f)(1) from other liable parties.

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.

• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Singleton v. Wulff · 428 U.S. 106 (1976)
• Secretary of State of Md. v. Joseph H. Munson Co. · 467 U.S. 947 (1984)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• Powers v. Ohio · 499 U.S. 400 (1991)
• United States Department of Labor v. Triplett · 494 U.S. 715 (1990)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Barrows v. Jackson · 346 U.S. 249 (1953)
• Ruhrgas Ag v. Marathon Oil Co. · 526 U.S. 574 (1999)
• Carey v. Population Services International · 431 U.S. 678 (1977)
• Conn v. Gabbert · 526 U.S. 286 (1999)
• Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States · 491 U.S. 617 (1989)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Evitts v. Lucey · 469 U.S. 387 (1985)
• Steffel v. Thompson · 415 U.S. 452 (1974)
• Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. · 528 U.S. 167 (2000)
• Eisenstadt v. Baird · 405 U.S. 438 (1972)
• Doe v. Bolton · 410 U.S. 179 (1973)
• Doran v. Salem Inn, Inc. · 422 U.S. 922 (1975)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• Truax v. Raich · 239 U.S. 33 (1915)
• Lake Carriers' Assn. v. MacMullan · 406 U.S. 498 (1972)
• Tyler v. Judges of the Court of Registration · 179 U.S. 405 (1900)
• Davis & Farnum Manufacturing Co. v. Los Angeles · 189 U.S. 207 (1903)

Cited by

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

• Halbert v. Michigan · 545 U.S. 605 (2005)
• FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine · 602 U.S. 367 (2024)
• American Legion v. American Humanist Assn. · 588 U.S. 29 (2019)
• Lexmark Int'l, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc. · 572 U.S. 118 (2014)
• Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Services, Inc. · 554 U.S. 269 (2008)
• Flowers v. Mississippi · 588 U.S. 284 (2019)
• Sessions v. Morales-Santana · 582 U.S. 47 (2017)
• Trump v. CASA, Inc. · 606 U.S. 831 (2025)
• Tenet v. Doe · 544 U.S. 1 (2005)
• Hinck v. United States · 550 U.S. 501 (2007)

Official text

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

Explore from here

William Hubbs Rehnquist’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2004). 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).