Case Summary
**Case Summary: Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Docket No. 7857722)**
**Court:** United States Supreme Court
**Year:** 2011
**Background:**
Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is a landmark class action case regarding employment discrimination. The case was initiated by a group of female employees who alleged that Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, engaged in systemic gender discrimination in its pay and promotion practices. The plaintiffs claimed that they were denied equal pay and advancement opportunities in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
**Plaintiffs:**
The lead plaintiff, Betty Dukes, along with approximately 1.5 million other female employees, sought to represent a nationwide class of women who worked for Wal-Mart since December 26, 1998. The plaintiffs argued that Wal-Mart's policies and culture led to unequal treatment based on gender.
**Key Issues:**
1. Whether the plaintiffs could proceed as a class under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
2. Whether there was sufficient commonality among the class members regarding their claims of discrimination.
3. The methodology through which the plaintiffs sought to demonstrate the alleged disparities in pay and promotion.
**Decision:**
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision to disallow the class certification sought by the plaintiffs. The majority opinion, delivered by Justice Antonin Scalia, emphasized that the plaintiffs had not sufficiently demonstrated that their claims were common across the class. The Court held that while the plaintiffs identified some common policies at Wal-Mart, they did not show that these policies led to a common injury or that the company's practices were uniformly discriminatory.
**Impact:**
This ruling had a significant impact on the future of class action lawsuits, particularly those pertaining to employment discrimination. It raised the bar for commonality and the ability of large groups of plaintiffs to seek relief collectively, thus affecting the dynamics of class action litigation in federal courts.
**Conclusion:**
The Dukes v. Wal-Mart case remains a pivotal legal precedent in employment law and class action litigation, highlighting the complexities of demonstrating commonality in large, diverse groups of plaintiffs in discrimination cases. It continues to influence how class action suits are structured and evaluated in the United States legal system.