Matt T. Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Decided May 16, 1994. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 93-263 · 511 U.S. 375 (1994) · Cited 12,961 times

Holding

A motor carrier in bankruptcy may not rely on tariff rates it has filed with the ICC, but which are void for nonparticipation under ICC regulations, as a basis for recovering undercharges.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Julian v. Central Trust Co. · 193 U.S. 93 (1904)
• Chambers v. Nasco, Inc. · 501 U.S. 32 (1991)
• McNutt v. General Motors Acceptance Corp. · 298 U.S. 178 (1936)
• Bender v. Williamsport Area School District · 475 U.S. 534 (1986)
• American Fire & Casualty Co. v. Finn · 341 U.S. 6 (1951)
• Young v. United States Ex Rel. Vuitton Et Fils S. A. · 481 U.S. 787 (1987)
• The United States v. Hudson and Goodwin · 11 U.S. 32 (1812)
• Moore v. New York Cotton Exchange · 270 U.S. 593 (1926)
• Willy v. Coastal Corp. · 503 U.S. 131 (1992)
• Baker v. Gold Seal Liquors, Inc. · 417 U.S. 467 (1974)

Cited by

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

• Peacock v. Thomas · 516 U.S. 349 (1996)
• Waetzig v. Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. · 604 U.S. 305 (2025)
• Home Depot U. S. A., Inc. v. Jackson · 587 U.S. 435 (2019)
• Badgerow v. Walters · 596 U.S. 1 (2022)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Dept. of Health and Human Resources · 532 U.S. 598 (2001)
• Hertz Corp. v. Friend · 559 U.S. 77 (2010)
• Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Services, Inc. · 545 U.S. 546 (2005)
• Gunn v. Minton · 568 U.S. 251 (2013)
• Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. v. Henson · 537 U.S. 28 (2002)
• Empire Healthchoice Assurance, Inc. v. McVeigh · 547 U.S. 677 (2006)
• Montana v. Egelhoff · 518 U.S. 37 (1996)
• Rasul v. Bush · 542 U.S. 466 (2004)
• Royal Canin U. S. A. v. Wullschleger · 604 U.S. 22 (2025)
• Bennis v. Michigan · 516 U.S. 442 (1996)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1994). 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).