Rodriguez De Quijas et al. v. Shearson/american Express, Inc.

Decided May 15, 1989. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-385 · 490 U.S. 477 (1989) · Cited 2,022 times

Holding

A predispute agreement to arbitrate claims under the Securities Act of 1933 is enforceable and resolution of the claims only in a judicial forum is not required.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Wilko v. Swan · 346 U.S. 427 (1953)
• Shearson/American Express Inc. v. McMahon · 482 U.S. 220 (1987)
• Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. · 473 U.S. 614 (1985)
• Scherk v. Alberto-Culver Co. · 417 U.S. 506 (1974)
• Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson · 404 U.S. 97 (1971)
• Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerks Union, Local 770 · 398 U.S. 235 (1970)
• Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital v. Mercury Construction Corp. · 460 U.S. 1 (1983)
• Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder · 425 U.S. 185 (1976)
• Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. v. Byrd · 470 U.S. 213 (1985)
• Boyle v. United Technologies Corp. · 487 U.S. 500 (1988)
• Saint Francis College v. Al-Khazraji · 481 U.S. 604 (1987)
• Sinclair Refining Co. v. Atkinson · 370 U.S. 195 (1962)
• Commissioner v. Estate of Church · 335 U.S. 632 (1949)

Cited by

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

• Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp. · 500 U.S. 20 (1991)
• 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett · 556 U.S. 247 (2009)
• American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant · 570 U.S. 228 (2013)
• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• Hall Street Associates, L. L. C. v. Mattel, Inc. · 552 U.S. 576 (2008)
• John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States · 552 U.S. 130 (2008)
• Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. · 551 U.S. 877 (2007)
• Bosse v. Oklahoma · 580 U.S. 1 (2016)
• Mallory v. Norfolk Southern R. Co · 600 U.S. 122 (2023)
• Roper v. Simmons · 543 U.S. 551 (2005)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• Green Tree Financial Corp.-Alabama v. Randolph · 531 U.S. 79 (2000)
• American Trucking Assns., Inc. v. Smith · 496 U.S. 167 (1990)
• First Options of Chicago, Inc. v. Kaplan · 514 U.S. 938 (1995)
• United States v. Gaudin · 515 U.S. 506 (1995)
• Doctor's Associates, Inc. v. Casarotto · 517 U.S. 681 (1996)
• Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams · 532 U.S. 105 (2001)
• Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio · 490 U.S. 642 (1989)
• Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis · 584 U.S. 497 (2018)
• Quill Corp. v. North Dakota Ex Rel. Heitkamp · 504 U.S. 298 (1992)
• Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees · 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
• Wright v. Universal Maritime Service Corp. · 525 U.S. 70 (1998)
• Hohn v. United States · 524 U.S. 236 (1998)
• Tenet v. Doe · 544 U.S. 1 (2005)
• Ramos v. Louisiana · 590 U.S. 83 (2020)
• United States v. O’Brien · 560 U.S. 218 (2010)
• Hubbard v. United States · 514 U.S. 695 (1995)
• United States v. Hatter · 532 U.S. 557 (2001)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1989). 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).