NLRB v. Sw General, Inc.

Decided March 21, 2017. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 15-1251 · 580 U.S. 288 (2017) · Cited 356 times

Holding

Laches cannot be invoked as a defense against a claim for damages brought within § 286's 6-year limitations period.

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 6–2.

“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.

• Edmond v. United States · 520 U.S. 651 (1997)
• Morrison v. Olson · 487 U.S. 654 (1988)
• National Labor Relations Board v. United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local 23 · 484 U.S. 112 (1987)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha · 462 U.S. 919 (1983)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Echazabal · 536 U.S. 73 (2002)
• Williams v. Taylor · 529 U.S. 362 (2000)
• Vaca v. Sipes · 386 U.S. 171 (1967)
• Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. · 523 U.S. 75 (1998)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. · 421 U.S. 132 (1975)
• United States v. Vonn · 535 U.S. 55 (2002)
• Freytag v. Commissioner · 501 U.S. 868 (1991)
• Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
• Preseault v. Interstate Commerce Commission · 494 U.S. 1 (1990)
• Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. · 535 U.S. 81 (2002)
• Radlax Gateway Hotel, LLC v. Amalgamated Bank · 566 U.S. 639 (2012)
• Zuber v. Allen · 396 U.S. 168 (1969)
• Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co. · 537 U.S. 149 (2003)
• Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC · 562 U.S. 223 (2011)
• United States v. Germaine · 99 U.S. 508 (1879)
• Koons Buick Pontiac GMC, Inc. v. Nigh · 543 U.S. 50 (2004)
• Pfizer Inc. v. Government of India · 434 U.S. 308 (1978)
• Marx v. General Revenue Corp. · 568 U.S. 371 (2013)
• State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. United States Ex Rel. Rigsby · 580 U.S. 26 (2016)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)

Cited by

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

• Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. · 606 U.S. 748 (2025)
• Nielsen v. Preap · 586 U.S. 392 (2019)
• Department of Commerce v. New York · 588 U.S. 752 (2019)
• Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton · 581 U.S. 468 (2017)
• Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian · 590 U.S. 1 (2020)
• Trump v. United States · 603 U.S. 593 (2024)
• Financial Oversight and Management Bd. for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC · 590 U.S. 448 (2020)
• Esteras v. United States · 606 U.S. 185 (2025)
• Bufkin v. Collins · 604 U.S. 369 (2025)
• Parrish v. United States · 605 U.S. 376 (2025)

Explore from here

John Glover Roberts Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2017). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).