Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd, et al. v. Zenith Radio Corp. et al.

Decided March 25, 1986. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-2004 · 475 U.S. 574 (1986) · Cited 58,760 times

Holding

The Court of Appeals did not apply proper standards in evaluating the District Court's decision to grant petitioners' motion for summary judgment.

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 5–4.

“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.

• First Nat. Bank of Ariz. v. Cities Service Co. · 391 U.S. 253 (1968)
• Monsanto Co. v. Spray-Rite Service Corp. · 465 U.S. 752 (1984)
• Brunswick Corp. v. Pueblo Bowl-O-Mat, Inc. · 429 U.S. 477 (1977)
• Monsanto Co. v. Spray-Rite Service Corp. · 465 U.S. 752 (1984)
• United States v. Diebold, Inc. · 369 U.S. 654 (1962)
• United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. · 310 U.S. 150 (1940)
• Continental Ore Co. v. Union Carbide & Carbon Corp. · 370 U.S. 690 (1962)
• Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. · 398 U.S. 144 (1970)
• Associated General Contractors of California, Inc. v. California State Council of Carpenters · 459 U.S. 519 (1983)
• United States v. Colgate & Co. · 250 U.S. 300 (1919)
• Sartor v. Arkansas Natural Gas Corp. · 321 U.S. 620 (1944)
• United States v. Topco Associates, Inc. · 405 U.S. 596 (1972)
• United States v. Trenton Potteries Co. · 273 U.S. 392 (1927)
• Utah Pie Co. v. Continental Baking Co. · 386 U.S. 685 (1967)

Cited by

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

• Brooke Group Ltd. v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 509 U.S. 209 (1993)
• Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly · 550 U.S. 544 (2007)
• Atlantic Richfield Co. v. USA Petroleum Co. · 495 U.S. 328 (1990)
• Eastman Kodak Co. v. Image Technical Services, Inc. · 504 U.S. 451 (1992)
• Cargill, Inc. v. Monfort of Colorado, Inc. · 479 U.S. 104 (1986)
• Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, Administratrix of the Estate of Catrett · 477 U.S. 317 (1986)
• Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. · 477 U.S. 242 (1986)
• Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. Linkline Communications, Inc. · 555 U.S. 438 (2009)
• Scott v. Harris · 550 U.S. 372 (2007)
• Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez · 577 U.S. 153 (2016)
• Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. California · 509 U.S. 764 (1993)
• 324 Liquor Corp. v. Duffy · 479 U.S. 335 (1987)
• Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc. · 530 U.S. 133 (2000)
• Bourjaily v. United States · 483 U.S. 171 (1987)
• Ricci v. DeStefano · 557 U.S. 557 (2009)
• Beard v. Banks · 548 U.S. 521 (2006)
• City of Columbia v. Omni Outdoor Advertising, Inc. · 499 U.S. 365 (1991)
• Business Electronics Corp. v. Sharp Electronics Corp. · 485 U.S. 717 (1988)
• Verizon Communications Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis v. Trinko, LLP · 540 U.S. 398 (2004)
• Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission · 518 U.S. 604 (1996)
• Summit Health, Ltd. v. Pinhas · 500 U.S. 322 (1991)
• Ohio v. American Express Co. · 585 U.S. 529 (2018)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1986). 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).