Rex R. Sprietsma, Administrator of the Estate of Jeanne Sprietsma, Deceased v. Mercury Marine, a Division of Brunswick Corporation

Decided December 3, 2002. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 01-706 · 537 U.S. 51 (2002) · Cited 377 times

Holding

The FBSA does not pre-empt state common-law claims such as petitioner’s.

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.

• Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. · 529 U.S. 861 (2000)
• Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co. · 435 U.S. 151 (1978)
• English v. General Electric Co. · 496 U.S. 72 (1990)
• United States v. Locke · 529 U.S. 89 (2000)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick · 514 U.S. 280 (1995)
• Hines v. Davidowitz · 312 U.S. 52 (1941)
• Gustafson v. Alloyd Co. · 513 U.S. 561 (1995)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Easterwood · 507 U.S. 658 (1993)
• Bethlehem Steel Co. v. New York State Labor Relations Board · 330 U.S. 767 (1947)
• Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. v. Arkansas Public Service Commission · 461 U.S. 375 (1983)

Cited by

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

• Flowers v. Mississippi · 588 U.S. 284 (2019)
• Northwest, Inc. v. Ginsberg · 572 U.S. 273 (2014)
• Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
• Altria Group, Inc. v. Good · 555 U.S. 70 (2008)
• Oneok, Inc. v. Learjet, Inc. · 575 U.S. 373 (2015)
• Hillman v. Maretta · 569 U.S. 483 (2013)
• Arizona v. United States · 567 U.S. 387 (2012)
• Baldwin v. Reese · 541 U.S. 27 (2004)
• Stolt-Nielsen S. A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp. · 559 U.S. 662 (2010)
• 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett · 556 U.S. 247 (2009)
• Haywood v. Drown · 556 U.S. 729 (2009)
• Kurns v. Railroad Friction Products Corp. · 565 U.S. 625 (2012)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2002). 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).