Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. et al. v. Ward et al.

Decided March 26, 1985. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-1274 · 470 U.S. 869 (1985) · Cited 343 times

Holding

The Alabama domestic preference tax statute violates the Equal Protection Clause as applied to appellants.

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.

• Western & Southern Life Ins. Co. v. State Bd. of Equalization of Cal. · 451 U.S. 648 (1981)
• Prudential Insurance v. Benjamin · 328 U.S. 408 (1946)
• Allied Stores of Ohio, Inc. v. Bowers · 358 U.S. 522 (1959)
• Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias · 468 U.S. 263 (1984)
• Hanover Fire Insurance v. Harding · 272 U.S. 494 (1926)
• Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc. · 397 U.S. 137 (1970)
• Wheeling Steel Corp. v. Glander · 337 U.S. 562 (1949)
• United States v. Carolene Products Co. · 304 U.S. 144 (1938)
• Carmichael v. Southern Coal & Coke Co. · 301 U.S. 495 (1937)
• United States v. South-Eastern Underwriters Assn. · 322 U.S. 533 (1944)
• Hughes v. Alexandria Scrap Corp. · 426 U.S. 794 (1976)
• City of New Orleans v. Dukes · 427 U.S. 297 (1976)
• Parker v. Brown · 317 U.S. 341 (1943)
• St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance v. Barry · 438 U.S. 531 (1978)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Lochner v. New York · 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
• Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co. · 449 U.S. 456 (1981)
• Lehnhausen v. Lake Shore Auto Parts Co. · 410 U.S. 356 (1973)
• Edgar v. Mite Corp. · 457 U.S. 624 (1982)
• Madden v. Kentucky Ex Rel. Commissioner · 309 U.S. 83 (1940)
• Morey v. Doud · 354 U.S. 457 (1957)
• Zobel v. Williams · 457 U.S. 55 (1982)
• Mandel v. Bradley · 432 U.S. 173 (1977)
• Fusari v. Steinberg · 419 U.S. 379 (1975)
• Hodel v. Indiana · 452 U.S. 314 (1981)
• Borden's Farm Products Co. v. Baldwin · 293 U.S. 194 (1934)
• Tyson & Brother v. Banton · 273 U.S. 418 (1927)
• White v. Massachusetts Council of Construction Employers, Inc. · 460 U.S. 204 (1983)

Cited by

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

• Northeast Bancorp, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System · 472 U.S. 159 (1985)
• General Motors Corp. v. Tracy · 519 U.S. 278 (1997)
• Armour v. City of Indianapolis · 566 U.S. 673 (2012)
• Amerada Hess Corp. v. Director, Division of Taxation, New Jersey Department of the Treasury · 490 U.S. 66 (1989)
• Nordlinger v. Hahn · 505 U.S. 1 (1992)
• Browning-Ferris Industries of Vermont, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc. · 492 U.S. 257 (1989)
• Oregon Waste Systems, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Quality of Ore. · 511 U.S. 93 (1994)
• West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy · 512 U.S. 186 (1994)
• Fitzgerald v. Racing Assn. of Central Iowa · 539 U.S. 103 (2003)
• Kraft General Foods, Inc. v. Iowa Department of Revenue & Finance · 505 U.S. 71 (1992)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). 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).