Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson et al., As Next Friends and Guardians of Thompson et al.
478 U.S. 804 · No. 85-619 · 1985 term · Burger Court
Decided Jul 7, 1986 · argued Apr 28, 1986
Judicial power · Judicial administration: federal question
Majority opinion: John Stevens
The voteMajorityDissent
5–45 in the majority, 4 in dissent
4 dissents (5–4)
Affirmed. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. lost.
What this ruling means
Affirmed: the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, so it stands (sometimes with changes the Court made to it).
Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. 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.
Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson, 478 U.S. 804 (1986), was a United States Supreme Court decision involving the original jurisdiction of the federal district courts under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal question jurisdiction).
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 1985 term. Filled: the 5 in the majority. Hollow: the 4 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.
Majority(5)
John StevensWrote the majority opinion
Lewis PowellJoined the majority
Sandra O'ConnorJoined the majority
Warren BurgerJoined the majority
William RehnquistJoined the majority
Dissent(4)
William BrennanWrote a dissent
Thurgood MarshallJoined a dissent
Harry BlackmunJoined a dissent
Byron WhiteJoined a dissent
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
- Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.Drug manufacturer
- Respondent
- Thompson et al., As Next Friends and Guardians of Thompson et al.Physically injured person, including wrongful death, who is not an employee
- Reached the Court by
- Certiorari (the Court chose 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
- 28 U.S.C. § 1331
- Kind of law
- Infrequently litigated statutes
- Decided by
- Statutory construction
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.
- Jul 7, 1986DecidedDecided · Decided 5–4: affirmed. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. lost.
- Apr 28, 1986ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
- Not datedTaken upTaken up · The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case (certiorari).
- Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit: reversed.
- Not datedBeganBegan · The case began in the Ohio Southern U.S. District 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
6 other argued cases since 1946 on judicial administration: federal question, newest first.
- Grable & Sons Metal Products, Inc. v. Darue Engineering & Manufacturing545 U.S. 308Jun 13, 2005 · 545 U.S. 308Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Donna E. Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al. v. Illinois Council on Long Term Care, Inc.529 U.S. 1Feb 29, 2000 · 529 U.S. 1Judicial power5–45–4 band
- Exxon Corporation v. Central Gulf Lines, Inc., et al.500 U.S. 603Jun 3, 1991 · 500 U.S. 603Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp. et al.488 U.S. 428Jan 23, 1989 · 488 U.S. 428Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Verlinden BV v. Central Bank of Nigeria461 U.S. 480May 23, 1983 · 461 U.S. 480Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Army and Air Force Exchange Service v. Sheehan456 U.S. 728Jun 1, 1982 · 456 U.S. 728Judicial power9–0Unanimous 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, the argument audio on Oyez and Wikipedia. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.