Esso Standard Oil Co. v. Evans, Commissioner of Finance and Taxation, et al.
345 U.S. 495 · No. 330 · 1952 term · Vinson Court
Decided May 4, 1953 · argued Mar 10, 1953
Federalism · National supremacy: intergovernmental tax immunity
Majority opinion: Stanley Reed
The voteMajorityDissent
5–35 in the majority, 3 in dissent
3 dissents (6–3)
Affirmed. Esso Standard Oil Co. lost.
What this ruling means
Affirmed: the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Tennessee Supreme Court, so it stands (sometimes with changes the Court made to it).
Esso Standard Oil Co. was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Lost” means the Court did not give that side the result it asked for.
From the Supreme Court Database. A justice who agreed with the result but not the reasoning counts in the majority.
Summary
The opening of the case’s Wikipedia article: what the case was about and what the Court held.
Wikipedia has no article on this case, so there is no summary.
Data notes
The text is Wikipedia’s (CC BY-SA 4.0), matched to the case by its citation, docket number or name and year, and is not checked against the opinion. The site keeps the article’s opening section, ending on its last full sentence. The one-sentence summary under the title is the Decisions list’s: Wikipedia’s own ruling sentence, or, tagged “AI-written”, one Claude wrote from this opening.
How the justices voted
Each justice who took part, placed by their Martin–Quinn ideology score for the 1952 term. Filled: the 5 in the majority. Hollow: the 3 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.
Majority(5)
Stanley ReedWrote the majority opinion
William DouglasJoined the majority
Tom ClarkJoined the majority
Sherman MintonJoined the majority
Harold BurtonJoined the majority
Dissent(3)
Hugo BlackJoined a dissent
Robert JacksonJoined a dissent
Frederick VinsonJoined a dissent
Did not take part: Felix Frankfurter.
Data notes
Each justice’s vote and what they wrote are from the justice-centered file of the Supreme Court Database. “Wrote a concurrence” means the justice sided with the majority and wrote separately; a justice who dissented in part is counted on the side they took overall. A justice who wrote nothing is listed as joining their side.
Positions are each justice’s Martin–Quinn score for the case’s term, the same scores as the Ideology page: negative is more liberal, positive more conservative. A score sums up a justice’s votes across the whole term, so it says where they usually sit, not why they voted as they did here. The median line is the Court’s median justice that term.
The parties
Who brought the case to the Court, who answered it, and how it got there.
- Petitioner
- Esso Standard Oil Co.Oil company, or natural gas producer
- Respondent
- Evans, Commissioner of Finance and Taxation, et al.Governmental official, or an official of an agency established under an interstate compact (Tennessee)
- Reached the Court by
- Appeal (the Court was required to hear it)
Data notes
The names are the two sides of the case’s title. The description under each is the Supreme Court Database’s category for that party, in its own wording. The petitioner is the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the decision below. “Why it was taken” appears only when the majority opinion says lower courts disagreed or were unsure about the question; reasons that would fit any case (“to resolve the question presented”, “an important question”) are left out.
The law at issue
The law the Court was asked to apply, and the kind of power it used to decide.
- Provision
- Article VI, Section 2 (supremacy clause)
- Kind of law
- Constitution
- Decided by
- Judicial review (state level)
Data notes
The Supreme Court Database codes the main constitutional provision, statute or court rule each case turned on, and the basis of the decision: judicial review of a federal or state law, interpreting a statute, supervising the lower courts, and so on. A case can rest on more than one. “Overruled” counts only where the majority opinion says so.
Timeline
What happened at the Court and how the case got there, newest first.
- May 4, 1953DecidedDecided · Decided 5–3: affirmed. Esso Standard Oil Co. lost.
- Mar 10, 1953ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
- Not datedTaken upTaken up · Reached the Supreme Court on appeal, which the Court had to hear.
- Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Decided by the Tennessee Supreme Court: affirmed.
- Not datedBeganBegan · The case began in the Tennessee trial court.
Data notes
From the Supreme Court Database: the court the case began in, the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed and what that court did, how the case came to the Court, and the dates of argument and decision. The database does not date the steps in the lower courts. Court names are the database’s.
Other decisions on the same issue
12 other argued cases since 1946 on national supremacy: intergovernmental tax immunity, newest first.
- Jefferson County, Alabama v. William M. Acker, Jr., Senior Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of Alabama, and U. W. Clemon, Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of Alabama527 U.S. 423Jun 21, 1999 · 527 U.S. 423Federalism7–27–2 band
- Nebraska Department of Revenue v. John Loewenstein513 U.S. 123Dec 12, 1994 · 513 U.S. 123Federalism9–0Unanimous band
- Henry Harper, et al. v. Virginia Department of Taxation509 U.S. 86Jun 18, 1993 · 509 U.S. 86Federalism7–27–2 band
- Keyton E. Barker and Pauline Barker, et al., Peittioners v. Kansas, et al.503 U.S. 594Apr 21, 1992 · 503 U.S. 594Federalism9–0Unanimous band
- California State Board of Equalization v. Sierra Summit, Inc.490 U.S. 844Jun 12, 1989 · 490 U.S. 844Federalism6–36–3 band
- South Carolina v. Baker, Secretary of the Treasury485 U.S. 505Apr 20, 1988 · 485 U.S. 505Federalism7–18–1 band
- Massachusetts v. United States435 U.S. 444Mar 29, 1978 · 435 U.S. 444Federalism6–27–2 band
- United States v. Tax Commission of Mississippi et al.421 U.S. 599Jun 2, 1975 · 421 U.S. 599Federalism7–27–2 band
- First Agricultural National Bank of Berkshire County v. State Tax Commission392 U.S. 339Jun 17, 1968 · 392 U.S. 339Federalism5–36–3 band
- United States et al. v. Boyd, Commissioner378 U.S. 39Jun 15, 1964 · 378 U.S. 39Federalism9–0Unanimous band
- Federal Land Bank of Wichita v. Board of County Commissioners of Kiowa County, Kansas, et al.368 U.S. 146Dec 11, 1961 · 368 U.S. 146Federalism9–0Unanimous band
- Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Texas Company336 U.S. 342Mar 7, 1949 · 336 U.S. 342Federalism9–0Unanimous band
Data notes
Every other orally argued case with a clear vote, from the 1946 term on, that the Supreme Court Database files under the same issue as this one. The database gives each case one issue from a list of about 270 (abortion, search and seizure of vehicles, the death penalty, and so on), whatever law it turned on.
Official record
Read the full opinion on Justia. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.