Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Ware

Decided December 4, 1973. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 72-312 · 414 U.S. 117 (1973) · Cited 282 times

Holding

Exchange Rules 345(a)(1) and 347(b), promulgated as self-regulatory measures pursuant to 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Act), and respondent's pledge to abide by those rules, do not pre-empt the avenues of wage relief otherwise available to respondent under California law.

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 8–0.

“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.

• Silver v. New York Stock Exchange · 373 U.S. 341 (1963)
• Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul · 373 U.S. 132 (1963)
• Wilko v. Swan · 346 U.S. 427 (1953)
• Huron Portland Cement Co. v. City of Detroit · 362 U.S. 440 (1960)
• Union Brokerage Co. v. Jensen · 322 U.S. 202 (1944)
• Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co. · 388 U.S. 395 (1967)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Perez. v. Campbell · 402 U.S. 637 (1971)
• City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, Inc. · 411 U.S. 624 (1973)
• International Ass'n of MacHinists v. Gonzales · 356 U.S. 617 (1958)
• Ricci v. Chicago Mercantile Exchange · 409 U.S. 289 (1973)
• Colorado Anti-Discrimination Commission v. Continental Air Lines, Inc. · 372 U.S. 714 (1963)
• U. S. Bulk Carriers, Inc. v. Arguelles · 400 U.S. 351 (1971)
• Campbell v. Hussey · 368 U.S. 297 (1961)
• Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad · 393 U.S. 129 (1968)

Cited by

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

• Perry v. Thomas · 482 U.S. 483 (1987)
• Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela · 587 U.S. 176 (2019)
• Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. · 473 U.S. 614 (1985)
• Hisquierdo v. Hisquierdo · 439 U.S. 572 (1979)
• Gordon v. New York Stock Exchange, Inc. · 422 U.S. 659 (1975)
• Southland Corp. v. Keating · 465 U.S. 1 (1984)
• Allied-Bruce Terminix Cos., Inc. v. Dobson · 513 U.S. 265 (1995)
• Exxon Corp. v. Governor of Maryland · 437 U.S. 117 (1978)
• De Canas v. Bica · 424 U.S. 351 (1976)
• Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co. · 435 U.S. 151 (1978)
• Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. v. Arkansas Public Service Commission · 461 U.S. 375 (1983)
• R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Durham County · 479 U.S. 130 (1986)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1973). 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).