Ruhrgas Ag v. Marathon Oil Company et al.

Decided May 17, 1999. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-470 · 526 U.S. 574 (1999) · Cited 3,295 times

Holding

In cases removed from state court to federal court, as in cases originating in federal court, there is no unyielding jurisdictional hierarchy requiring the federal court to adjudicate subject-matter jurisdiction before considering a challenge to personal jurisdiction.

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.

• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Insurance Corp. of Ireland v. Compagnie Des Bauxites De Guinee · 456 U.S. 694 (1982)
• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Helicopteros Nacionales De Colombia, S. A. v. Hall · 466 U.S. 408 (1984)
• Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona · 520 U.S. 43 (1997)
• Caterpillar Inc. v. Lewis · 519 U.S. 61 (1996)
• Strawbridge v. Curtiss · 7 U.S. 267 (1806)
• Moor v. County of Alameda · 411 U.S. 693 (1973)
• Mansfield, Coldwater & Lake Michigan Railway Co. v. Swan · 111 U.S. 379 (1884)
• Chicot County Drainage District v. Baxter State Bank · 308 U.S. 371 (1940)
• State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Tashire · 386 U.S. 523 (1967)
• Baldwin v. Iowa State Traveling Men's Assn. · 283 U.S. 522 (1931)
• Ellis v. Dyson · 421 U.S. 426 (1975)
• Employers Reinsurance Corp. v. Bryant · 299 U.S. 374 (1937)

Cited by

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

• Sinochem International Co. v. Malaysia International Shipping Corp. · 549 U.S. 422 (2007)
• Kowalski v. Tesmer · 543 U.S. 125 (2004)
• Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer · 601 U.S. 1 (2023)
• Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp. · 546 U.S. 500 (2006)
• Hertz Corp. v. Friend · 559 U.S. 77 (2010)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
• Walker v. Martin · 562 U.S. 307 (2011)
• Lance v. Coffman · 549 U.S. 437 (2007)
• Tenet v. Doe · 544 U.S. 1 (2005)
• Riley v. Bondi · 606 U.S. 259 (2025)
• Lightfoot v. Cendant Mortgage Corp · 580 U.S. 82 (2017)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1999). 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).