Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Petitioner v. Betty Dukes et al.
The Court ruled that a group of roughly 1.5 million women could not be certified as a valid class of plaintiffs in a class action for employment discrimination against Walmart.
564 U.S. 338 · No. 10-277 · 2010 term · Roberts Court
Decided Jun 20, 2011 · argued Mar 29, 2011
Judicial power · Standing to sue: justiciable question
Majority opinion: Antonin Scalia
The voteMajorityDissent
5–45 in the majority, 4 in dissent
4 dissents (5–4)
Reversed. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Petitioner won.
What this ruling means
Reversed: the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, and its own ruling ends the case.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Petitioner was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Won” means the Court gave that side the result it asked for.
From the Supreme Court Database. A justice who agreed with the result but not the reasoning counts in the majority.
Summary
The opening of the case’s Wikipedia article: what the case was about and what the Court held.
Wal-Mart v. Dukes, 564 U.S. 338 (2011), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that a group of roughly 1.5 million women could not be certified as a valid class of plaintiffs in a class action for employment discrimination against Walmart. Lead plaintiff Betty Dukes, a Walmart employee, and others alleged gender discrimination in pay and promotion policies and practices in Walmart stores.
The Court agreed to hear argument on whether Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which provides for class actions if the defendant's actions make injunctive relief appropriate, can be used to file a class action that demands monetary damages. The Court also asked the parties to argue whether the class meets the traditional requirements of numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the class should not be certified in its current form but was only 5–4 on why so and whether the class could continue in a different form.
Data notes
The text is Wikipedia’s (CC BY-SA 4.0), matched to the case by its citation, docket number or name and year, and is not checked against the opinion. The site keeps the article’s opening section, ending on its last full sentence. The one-sentence summary under the title is the Decisions list’s: Wikipedia’s own ruling sentence, or, tagged “AI-written”, one Claude wrote from this opening.
How the justices voted
Each justice who took part, placed by their Martin–Quinn ideology score for the 2010 term. Filled: the 5 in the majority. Hollow: the 4 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.
Majority(5)
Antonin ScaliaWrote the majority opinion
Anthony KennedyJoined the majority
John RobertsJoined the majority
Samuel AlitoJoined the majority
Clarence ThomasJoined the majority
Dissent(4)
Ruth GinsburgWrote a dissent
Sonia SotomayorJoined a dissent
Elena KaganJoined a dissent
Stephen BreyerJoined a dissent
Data notes
Each justice’s vote and what they wrote are from the justice-centered file of the Supreme Court Database. “Wrote a concurrence” means the justice sided with the majority and wrote separately; a justice who dissented in part is counted on the side they took overall. A justice who wrote nothing is listed as joining their side.
Positions are each justice’s Martin–Quinn score for the case’s term, the same scores as the Ideology page: negative is more liberal, positive more conservative. A score sums up a justice’s votes across the whole term, so it says where they usually sit, not why they voted as they did here. The median line is the Court’s median justice that term.
The parties
Who brought the case to the Court, who answered it, and how it got there.
- Petitioner
- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., PetitionerRetail business or outlet
- Respondent
- Betty Dukes et al.Female employee or job applicant
- Reached the Court by
- Certiorari (the Court chose to hear it)
- Why it was taken
- Federal appeals courts had ruled differently on the question
Data notes
The names are the two sides of the case’s title. The description under each is the Supreme Court Database’s category for that party, in its own wording. The petitioner is the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the decision below. “Why it was taken” appears only when the majority opinion says lower courts disagreed or were unsure about the question; reasons that would fit any case (“to resolve the question presented”, “an important question”) are left out.
The law at issue
The law the Court was asked to apply, and the kind of power it used to decide.
- Provision
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including Appellate Procedure, or relevant rules of a circuit court Judicial Code, and admiralty rules
- Kind of law
- Court Rules
- Decided by
- Statutory construction
Data notes
The Supreme Court Database codes the main constitutional provision, statute or court rule each case turned on, and the basis of the decision: judicial review of a federal or state law, interpreting a statute, supervising the lower courts, and so on. A case can rest on more than one. “Overruled” counts only where the majority opinion says so.
Timeline
What happened at the Court and how the case got there, newest first.
- Jun 20, 2011DecidedDecided · Decided 5–4: reversed. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Petitioner won.
- Mar 29, 2011ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
- Not datedTaken upTaken up · The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case (certiorari). Federal appeals courts had ruled differently on the question.
- Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit: affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part, with a dissent.
- Not datedBeganBegan · The case began in the California Northern U.S. District Court.
Data notes
From the Supreme Court Database: the court the case began in, the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed and what that court did, how the case came to the Court, and the dates of argument and decision. The database does not date the steps in the lower courts. Court names are the database’s.
Other decisions on the same issue
11 other argued cases since 1946 on standing to sue: justiciable question, newest first.
- Richard Vieth, Norma Jean Vieth, and Susan Furey v. Robert C. Jubelirer, President of the Pennsylvania Senate, et al.541 U.S. 267Apr 28, 2004 · 541 U.S. 267Judicial power5–45–4 band
- National Park Hospitality Association v. Department of the Interior et al.538 U.S. 803May 27, 2003 · 538 U.S. 803Judicial power7–27–2 band
- Arthur Calderon, Warden, et al. v. Troy Ashmus, etc.523 U.S. 740May 26, 1998 · 523 U.S. 740Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Ohio Forestry Association, Inc. v. Sierra Club, et al.523 U.S. 726May 18, 1998 · 523 U.S. 726Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Eloise Anderson, Director, California Department of Social Services, et al. v. Deshawn Green, Debby Venturella and Diana P. Bertollt, etc.513 U.S. 557Feb 22, 1995 · 513 U.S. 557Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Walter L. Nixon v. United States et al.506 U.S. 224Jan 13, 1993 · 506 U.S. 224Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Gilligan, Governor of Ohio, et al. v. Morgan et al.413 U.S. 1Jun 21, 1973 · 413 U.S. 1Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Poe et al. v. Ullman, State's Attorney367 U.S. 497Jun 19, 1961 · 367 U.S. 497Judicial power5–45–4 band
- Panama Canal Co. v. Grace Line, Inc., et al.356 U.S. 309Apr 28, 1958 · 356 U.S. 309Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Nukk et al. v. Shaughnessy, District Director, Immigration and Naturalization Service.350 U.S. 869Oct 24, 1955 · 350 U.S. 869Judicial power9–0Unanimous band
- Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGRATH, Attorney General, et al.341 U.S. 123Apr 30, 1951 · 341 U.S. 123Judicial power5–36–3 band
Data notes
Every other orally argued case with a clear vote, from the 1946 term on, that the Supreme Court Database files under the same issue as this one. The database gives each case one issue from a list of about 270 (abortion, search and seizure of vehicles, the death penalty, and so on), whatever law it turned on.
Official record
Read the full opinion on Justia, the argument audio on Oyez and Wikipedia. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.