Washington State Dept. of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Inc.

Washington v. Cougar Den
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 30, 2018 Decided March 19, 2019
Full case name	Washington State Dept. of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Inc.
Docket no.	16-1498
Citations	586 U.S. ___ (more) 139 S. Ct. 1000; 203 L. Ed. 2d 301
Case history
Prior	Cougar Den, Inc. v. Dep't of Licensing, 392 P.3d 1014 (2017); cert. granted, 138 S. Ct. 2671 (2018).
Holding
The Yakama Nation Treaty of 1855 preempts the state law which the State purported to be able to tax fuel purchased by a tribal corporation for sale to tribal members.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan Neil Gorsuch · Brett Kavanaugh
Case opinions
Plurality	Breyer, joined by Sotomayor, Kagan
Concurrence	Gorsuch (in judgment), joined by Ginsburg
Dissent	Roberts, joined by Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh
Dissent	Kavanaugh, joined by Thomas
Laws applied
Yakama Nation Treaty of 1855; Wash. Rev. Code §§82.36.010(4), (12), (16)

Washington State Dep't of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Inc., 586 U.S. ___ (2019), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the Yakama Nation Treaty of 1855 preempts the state law which the State purported to be able to tax fuel purchased by a tribal corporation for sale to tribal members. This was a 5-4 plurality decision, with Justice Breyer's opinion being joined by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan. Justice Gorsuch, joined by Justice Ginsburg, penned a concurring opinion. There were dissenting opinions by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh.