Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp.
E796586
Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in which the estate of nuclear worker and whistleblower Karen Silkwood successfully sued her employer for plutonium contamination, affirming the availability of state tort remedies alongside federal nuclear regulation.
Statements (51)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
nuclear regulation case ⓘ tort law case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
federal preemption doctrine
ⓘ
products liability ⓘ workplace safety ⓘ |
| arguedDate | 1983-10-04 ⓘ |
| citation | Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 238 (1984) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1984-01-11 ⓘ |
| defendant | Kerr-McGee Corporation NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| dissentBy |
Justice John Paul Stevens
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Justice Warren E. Burger NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice William H. Rehnquist NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| docketNumber | 81-2159 ⓘ |
| fullName | Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
federal nuclear safety regulation does not preempt state-law tort remedies
ⓘ
state-law punitive damages are not preempted by the Atomic Energy Act ⓘ |
| impact | strengthened role of state tort law in nuclear and hazardous industries ⓘ |
| joinedByInMajority |
Justice Harry A. Blackmun
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice Sandra Day O'Connor NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice Thurgood Marshall NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice William J. Brennan Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | federal question jurisdiction ⓘ |
| keyPrinciple |
Congress did not intend to displace traditional state tort law in nuclear safety context
ⓘ
federal regulation can coexist with state tort remedies unless clearly preempted ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
availability of punitive damages under state law for nuclear incidents
ⓘ
whether federal nuclear safety regulation preempts state tort law ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Justice Byron White NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originatingCircuit | United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originatingCourt | United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| plaintiff | Estate of Karen Silkwood NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| rearguedDate | 1983-11-30 ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc.
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedOrganization | Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corporation NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedPerson | Karen Silkwood NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedTopic | nuclear whistleblowing in the United States ⓘ |
| resultBelow | judgment for Silkwood's estate with compensatory and punitive damages ⓘ |
| shortName | Silkwood NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| statuteInterpreted |
Atomic Energy Act of 1954
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Price-Anderson Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
federal preemption
ⓘ
nuclear safety ⓘ punitive damages ⓘ state tort remedies ⓘ |
| SupremeCourtDisposition | affirmed in part and reversed in part ⓘ |
| volume | 464 U.S. 238 ⓘ |
| vote | 5-4 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.