State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Inez Preece Campbell and Matthew C. Barneck
538 U.S. 408 · Decided April 7, 2003 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Inez Preece Campbell and Matthew C. Barneck was decided on April 7, 2003 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Punitive damages” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 538 U.S. 408 · 123 S. Ct. 1513 · 155 L. Ed. 2d 585 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 2713
- Docket number
- 01-1289
- Decided
- April 7, 2003
- Argued
- December 11, 2002
- Court era
- Rehnquist 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
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Punitive damages
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Inez Preece Campbell and Matthew C. Barneck, Special Administrator and Personal Representative of the Estate of Curtis B. Campbell
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-041, docket 2002-041-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Punitive damages”
- Kay Barnes, Etc. v. Jeffrey Gorman
- Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Leatherman Tool Group, Inc.
- Philip Morris USA v. Mayola Williams
- Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker
- Atlantic Sounding Co., Inc. v. Edgar L. Townsend
- BMW of North America, Inc. v. Ira Gore, Jr.
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- City of Cuyahoga Falls v. Buckeye Community Hope Foundation
- Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. John Doe
- City of Los Angeles v. Edwin F. David
- Clyde Timothy Bunkley v. Florida
- John Geddes Lawrence and Tyron Garner v. TexasAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Illinois v. Gregory Fisher
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Yellow Transportation, Inc. v. Michigan
- Karen Howsam, Etc. v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.
- Borden Ranch Partnership and Angelo K. Tsakopoulos v. United States Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency
- Pierce County v. Ignacio Guillen
- Eric Eldred v. John D. Ashcroft
- Federal Communications Commission v. Nextwave Personal Communications Inc.
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