Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson et al., as Next Friends and Guardians of Thompson et al.

Decided July 7, 1986. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 85-619 · 478 U.S. 804 (1986) · Cited 2,209 times

Holding

A violation of a federal statute as an element of a state cause of action, when Congress has determined that there should be no private, federal cause of action for the violation, does not state a claim "arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States" within the meaning of 28 U.S.C.

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.

• Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Construction Laborers Vacation Trust for Southern Cal. · 463 U.S. 1 (1983)
• Moore v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. · 291 U.S. 205 (1934)
• Gully v. First Nat. Bank in Meridian · 299 U.S. 109 (1936)
• Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills of Ala. · 353 U.S. 448 (1957)
• Osborn v. Bank of United States · 22 U.S. 738 (1824)
• Romero v. International Terminal Operating Co. · 358 U.S. 354 (1959)
• Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Curran · 456 U.S. 353 (1982)
• California v. Sierra Club · 451 U.S. 287 (1981)
• United Mine Workers of America v. Gibbs · 383 U.S. 715 (1966)
• Bell v. Hood · 327 U.S. 678 (1946)
• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Verlinden B. v. v. Central Bank of Nigeria · 461 U.S. 480 (1983)
• American Well Works Company v. Layne and Bowler Company · 241 U.S. 257 (1916)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Hagans v. Lavine · 415 U.S. 528 (1974)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Burford v. Sun Oil Co. · 319 U.S. 315 (1943)
• Cohens v. Virginia · 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
• Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. · 438 U.S. 59 (1978)
• Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington · 442 U.S. 560 (1979)
• Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. Mottley · 211 U.S. 149 (1908)
• Skelly Oil Co. v. Phillips Petroleum Co. · 339 U.S. 667 (1950)
• Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis · 444 U.S. 11 (1979)
• Texas Industries, Inc. v. Radcliff Materials, Inc. · 451 U.S. 630 (1981)
• Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Transport Workers Union · 451 U.S. 77 (1981)
• The Fair v. Kohler Die & Specialty Co. · 228 U.S. 22 (1913)
• National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. National Assn. of Railroad Passengers · 414 U.S. 453 (1974)

Cited by

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

• Grable & Sons Metal Products, Inc. v. Darue Engineering & Manufacturing · 545 U.S. 308 (2005)
• Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. v. Manning · 578 U.S. 374 (2016)
• Christianson v. Colt Industries Operating Corp. · 486 U.S. 800 (1988)
• Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams · 482 U.S. 386 (1987)
• City of Chicago v. International College of Surgeons · 522 U.S. 156 (1997)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Gunn v. Minton · 568 U.S. 251 (2013)
• Empire Healthchoice Assurance, Inc. v. McVeigh · 547 U.S. 677 (2006)
• Beneficial National Bank v. Anderson · 539 U.S. 1 (2003)
• Finley v. United States · 490 U.S. 545 (1989)
• Mesa v. California · 489 U.S. 121 (1989)
• Ohio v. Reiner · 532 U.S. 17 (2001)

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).