The Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc.
Decided June 3, 2002. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 01-408 · 535 U.S. 826 (2002) · Cited 617 times
Holding
The Federal Circuit cannot assert jurisdiction over a case in which the complaint does not allege a patent-law claim, but the answer contains a patent-law counterclaim.
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.
Majority · 6
- Antonin Scalia · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Clarence Thomas
- David Hackett Souter
- Stephen Gerald Breyer
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Concurring · 3
- John Paul Stevens · filed a concurring opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg · filed a concurring opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor
“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.
- Christianson v. Colt Industries Operating Corp. · 486 U.S. 800 (1988)
- Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Construction Laborers Vacation Trust for Southern Cal. · 463 U.S. 1 (1983)
- Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams · 482 U.S. 386 (1987)
- Griggs v. Provident Consumer Discount Co. · 459 U.S. 56 (1982)
- Shamrock Oil & Gas Corp. v. Sheets · 313 U.S. 100 (1941)
- The Fair v. Kohler Die & Specialty Co. · 228 U.S. 22 (1913)
- TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc. · 532 U.S. 23 (2001)
- Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Texaco Inc. · 415 U.S. 125 (1974)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Vaden v. Discover Bank · 556 U.S. 49 (2009)
- Home Depot U. S. A., Inc. v. Jackson · 587 U.S. 435 (2019)
- Jones v. R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co. · 541 U.S. 369 (2004)
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 (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).