Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States, Ex Rel., Jonathan Stevens

Decided May 22, 2000. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-1828 · 529 U.S. 765 (2000) · Cited 1,463 times

Holding

A private individual may not bring suit in federal court on behalf of the United States against a State (or state agency) under the FCA.

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.

• City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc. · 453 U.S. 247 (1981)
• United States v. California · 297 U.S. 175 (1936)
• Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Wilson v. Omaha Indian Tribe · 442 U.S. 653 (1979)
• Georgia v. Evans · 316 U.S. 159 (1942)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• United States v. United Mine Workers of America · 330 U.S. 258 (1947)
• United States Ex Rel. Marcus v. Hess · 317 U.S. 537 (1943)
• United States v. Cooper Corp. · 312 U.S. 600 (1941)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents · 528 U.S. 62 (2000)
• United States v. Bornstein · 423 U.S. 303 (1976)
• Hoffman v. Connecticut Department of Income Maintenance · 492 U.S. 96 (1989)
• United States v. Neifert-White Co. · 390 U.S. 228 (1968)
• Rainwater v. United States · 356 U.S. 590 (1958)
• Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle · 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. · 528 U.S. 167 (2000)
• Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor · 521 U.S. 591 (1997)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)
• Hafer v. Melo · 502 U.S. 21 (1991)
• Ruhrgas Ag v. Marathon Oil Co. · 526 U.S. 574 (1999)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas · 495 U.S. 149 (1990)
• Poller v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. · 368 U.S. 464 (1962)
• Smith v. Wade · 461 U.S. 30 (1983)
• Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. · 506 U.S. 139 (1993)

Cited by

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

• Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Services, Inc. · 554 U.S. 269 (2008)
• Cook County v. United States Ex Rel. Chandler · 538 U.S. 119 (2003)
• Thole v. U. S. Bank N. A. · 590 U.S. 538 (2020)
• Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins · 578 U.S. 330 (2016)
• Hollingsworth v. Perry · 570 U.S. 693 (2013)
• State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. United States Ex Rel. Rigsby · 580 U.S. 26 (2016)
• Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Hunt · 587 U.S. 262 (2019)
• Raygor v. Regents of the University of Minnesota · 534 U.S. 533 (2002)
• Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar · 579 U.S. 176 (2016)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• Graham County Soil & Water Conservation District v. United States Ex Rel. Wilson · 559 U.S. 280 (2010)
• Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana · 596 U.S. 639 (2022)
• United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc. · 599 U.S. 419 (2023)
• United States ex rel. Eisenstein v. City of New York · 556 U.S. 928 (2009)
• Inyo County, California v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony · 538 U.S. 701 (2003)
• Barnes v. Gorman · 536 U.S. 181 (2002)
• Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski · 592 U.S. 279 (2021)
• Graham County Soil & Water Conservation District v. United States Ex Rel. Wilson · 545 U.S. 409 (2005)
• Branch v. Smith · 538 U.S. 254 (2003)
• PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. v. Book · 538 U.S. 401 (2003)
• Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer · 601 U.S. 1 (2023)

Official text

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

Explore from here

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2000). 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).