Semtek International Incorporated v. Lockheed Martin Corporation

Decided February 27, 2001. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 99-1551 · 531 U.S. 497 (2001) · Cited 1,165 times

Holding

Because the claim-preclusive effect of a federal court’s dismissal “upon the merits” of a diversity action on state statute-of-limitations grounds is governed by a federal rule, which in turn (in diversity cases) incorporates the claim-preclusion law that would be applied by state courts in the State in which the federal court sits, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals erred in holding that the California federal court’s dismissal “upon the merits” necessarily precluded the Maryland statecourt action.

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.

• Hanna v. Plumer · 380 U.S. 460 (1965)
• Federated Department Stores, Inc. v. Moitie · 452 U.S. 394 (1981)
• Guaranty Trust Co. v. York · 326 U.S. 99 (1945)
• Walker v. Armco Steel Corp. · 446 U.S. 740 (1980)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Heck v. Humphrey · 512 U.S. 477 (1994)
• Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Electric Manufacturing Co. · 313 U.S. 487 (1941)
• Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore · 439 U.S. 322 (1979)
• Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc. v. University of Illinois Foundation · 402 U.S. 313 (1971)
• Gasperini v. Center for Humanities, Inc. · 518 U.S. 415 (1996)
• Palmer v. Hoffman · 318 U.S. 109 (1943)
• Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. · 514 U.S. 211 (1995)
• Stoll v. Gottlieb · 305 U.S. 165 (1938)
• Bernhardt v. Polygraphic Co. of America, Inc. · 350 U.S. 198 (1956)
• Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp. · 527 U.S. 815 (1999)
• Cities Service Oil Co. v. Dunlap · 308 U.S. 208 (1939)

Cited by

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

• Brownback v. King · 592 U.S. 209 (2021)
• Taylor v. Sturgell · 553 U.S. 880 (2008)
• Gonzalez v. Crosby · 545 U.S. 524 (2005)
• Smith v. Bayer Corp. · 564 U.S. 299 (2011)
• Haywood v. Drown · 556 U.S. 729 (2009)
• Waetzig v. Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. · 604 U.S. 305 (2025)

Official text

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

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Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2001). 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).