Lawson v. FMR LLC
571 U.S. 429 · Decided March 4, 2014 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Lawson v. FMR LLC was decided on March 4, 2014 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Freedom of Information Act and related laws” in the Privacy area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 571 U.S. 429 · 134 S. Ct. 1158 · 188 L. Ed. 2d 158 · 2014 U.S. LEXIS 1783
- Docket number
- 12-3
- Decided
- March 4, 2014
- Argued
- November 12, 2013
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Freedom of Information Act and related laws
- Issue area
- Privacy
- Legal provision
- 18-1514A
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority |
Full case caption
Lawson v. FMR LLC
SCDB identifiers: case 2013-024, docket 2013-024-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Freedom of Information Act and related laws”
- Republic of Argentina v. NML Capital, Ltd.
- Mark J. McBurney v. Nathaniel L. Young
- Schindler Elevator Corporation v. United States ex Rel. Daniel Kirk
- Glen Scott Milner v. Department of the Navy
- Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T Inc.
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration v. Robert M. Nelson
Same Term, same area (Privacy)
- Republic of Argentina v. NML Capital, Ltd.
- McCullen v. CoakleyLaw held unconstitutional
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error