Egelhoff v. Egelhoff

Egelhoff v. Egelhoff
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 8, 2000 Decided March 21, 2001
Full case name	Donna Rae Egelhoff, Petitioner v. Samantha Egelhoff, A Minor, By and Through Her Natural Parent Kate Breiner, and David Egelhoff
Citations	532 U.S. 141 (more) 121 S. Ct. 1322; 149 L. Ed. 2d 264; 2001 U.S. LEXIS 2458; 69 U.S.L.W. 4206; 25 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 2089; 2001 Daily Journal DAR 2861; 2001 Colo. J. C.A.R. 1477; 14 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 147
Holding
State statutes having a connection with ERISA plans are superseded by ERISA.
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
Majority	Thomas, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg
Concurrence	Scalia, joined by Ginsburg
Dissent	Breyer, joined by Stevens
Laws applied
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.

Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001), is a major decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on federalism, specifically with regards to the preemption powers of federal law over state laws. It sets the precedent that any state statutes having a "connection with" ERISA plans are superseded by ERISA, or any future substantially similar law that takes its place. In essence, this decision is a reaffirmation of the right and ability of the federal government to, at least in some instances, pre-empt state laws.