Case Summary
**Case Summary: Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.**
**Court:** United States Supreme Court
**Docket Number:** 10-277 (The case citation you provided, 7850445, does not appear to correspond to a recognized docket number for this case; it is possible that it is a misreference.)
**Argued:** March 29, 2011
**Decided:** June 20, 2011
**Background:**
Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is a landmark class action case in the United States that centers around allegations of gender discrimination against Wal-Mart by a group of female employees. The plaintiffs, led by Betty Dukes, argued that Wal-Mart engaged in systematic discrimination against women in its hiring, promotion, and compensation practices. The case came to light following a lawsuit filed in 2001, which sought to represent a class of approximately 1.5 million current and former female employees across the United States.
**Legal Issues:**
The primary legal issue before the Supreme Court was whether the plaintiffs could maintain their case as a class action under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Specifically, the Court examined the requirements for commonality and predominance, which are essential for class certification.
**Arguments:**
The plaintiffs contended that Wal-Mart’s policies led to gender discrimination, citing that discretion in pay and promotions was implemented at a local level, which, in turn, resulted in disparities across the organization. They argued that there were common questions of law and fact that affected the entire class due to Wal-Mart’s corporate culture.
Wal-Mart argued that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate the necessary commonality and that the claims involved too many individual circumstances to warrant class certification. Wal-Mart asserted that each employee’s experience could vary dramatically, making a class action inappropriate.
**Supreme Court Decision:**
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wal-Mart, reversing the lower court’s certification of the class. The majority opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, held that the plaintiffs did not meet the commonality requirement, as they had not demonstrated that the alleged discriminatory practices were sufficiently uniform across the various locations of Wal-Mart. The Court emphasized that individual claims were not sufficiently linked to warrant a class action.
**Significance:**
Dukes v. Wal-Mart is widely regarded as a significant case regarding class action lawsuits and employment discrimination. The decision highlighted the challenges that plaintiffs face in demonstrating commonality in large class actions and set a precedent affecting the certification of class action cases in the future. The ruling also brought attention to the complexities involved in proving systemic discrimination in large corporations.
**Conclusion:**
The case ultimately underscored the need for clear links between alleged discriminatory practices and common experiences among class members in order to advance a class action lawsuit. It remains a pivotal case in employment law and civil litigation.