Caterpillar Inc. et al. v. Williams et al.

Decided June 9, 1987. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 86-526 · 482 U.S. 386 (1987) · Cited 6,547 times

Holding

Respondents' state-law complaint for breach of the individual employment contracts is not removable to Federal District Court.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Construction Laborers Vacation Trust for Southern Cal. · 463 U.S. 1 (1983)
• Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Taylor · 481 U.S. 58 (1987)
• Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck · 471 U.S. 202 (1985)
• Avco Corp. v. Aero Lodge No. 735, International Ass'n of MacHinists & Aerospace Workers · 390 U.S. 557 (1968)
• J. I. Case Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 321 U.S. 332 (1944)
• San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon · 359 U.S. 236 (1959)
• Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson Ex Rel. Thompson · 478 U.S. 804 (1986)
• Gully v. First Nat. Bank in Meridian · 299 U.S. 109 (1936)
• Oneida Indian Nation v. County of Oneida · 414 U.S. 661 (1974)
• Great Northern Railway Co. v. Alexander · 246 U.S. 276 (1918)
• The Fair v. Kohler Die & Specialty Co. · 228 U.S. 22 (1913)
• Lodge 76, International Ass'n of MacHinists & Aerospace Workers v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission · 427 U.S. 132 (1976)
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Hechler · 481 U.S. 851 (1987)
• Medo Photo Supply Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 321 U.S. 678 (1944)
• Local 20, Teamsters, Chauffeurs & Helpers Union v. Morton · 377 U.S. 252 (1964)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Beneficial National Bank v. Anderson · 539 U.S. 1 (2003)
• City of Chicago v. International College of Surgeons · 522 U.S. 156 (1997)
• Home Depot U. S. A., Inc. v. Jackson · 587 U.S. 435 (2019)
• Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools · 580 U.S. 154 (2017)
• Lingle v. Norge Division of Magic Chef, Inc. · 486 U.S. 399 (1988)
• Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila · 542 U.S. 200 (2004)
• Rivet v. Regions Bank of Louisiana · 522 U.S. 470 (1998)
• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Graham · 489 U.S. 838 (1989)
• Christianson v. Colt Industries Operating Corp. · 486 U.S. 800 (1988)
• Livadas v. Bradshaw · 512 U.S. 107 (1994)
• Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc. · 535 U.S. 826 (2002)
• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services · 492 U.S. 490 (1989)
• Royal Canin U. S. A. v. Wullschleger · 604 U.S. 22 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1987). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).