Shearson/american Express Inc. et al. v. McMahon et al.

Decided June 8, 1987. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 86-44 · 482 U.S. 220 (1987) · Cited 1,711 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

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)
• Scherk v. Alberto-Culver Co. · 417 U.S. 506 (1974)
• Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. v. Byrd · 470 U.S. 213 (1985)
• Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. · 473 U.S. 614 (1985)
• Herman & MacLean v. Huddleston · 459 U.S. 375 (1983)
• Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital v. Mercury Construction Corp. · 460 U.S. 1 (1983)
• Sedima, S. P. R. L. v. Imrex Co. · 473 U.S. 479 (1985)
• Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder · 425 U.S. 185 (1976)
• Southland Corp. v. Keating · 465 U.S. 1 (1984)
• Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerks Union, Local 770 · 398 U.S. 235 (1970)
• Landreth Timber Co. v. Landreth · 471 U.S. 681 (1985)
• Train v. City of New York · 420 U.S. 35 (1975)

Cited by

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

• Rodriguez De Quijas v. Shearson/American Express, Inc. · 490 U.S. 477 (1989)
• Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp. · 500 U.S. 20 (1991)
• Compucredit Corp. v. Greenwood · 565 U.S. 95 (2012)
• Green Tree Financial Corp.-Alabama v. Randolph · 531 U.S. 79 (2000)
• 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett · 556 U.S. 247 (2009)
• Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis · 584 U.S. 497 (2018)
• American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant · 570 U.S. 228 (2013)
• Tafflin v. Levitt · 493 U.S. 455 (1990)
• Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Epstein · 516 U.S. 367 (1996)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• Doctor's Associates, Inc. v. Casarotto · 517 U.S. 681 (1996)
• Holmes v. Securities Investor Protection Corporation · 503 U.S. 258 (1992)
• Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams · 532 U.S. 105 (2001)
• Lampf, Pleva, Lipkind, Prupis & Petigrow v. Gilbertson · 501 U.S. 350 (1991)
• Wright v. Universal Maritime Service Corp. · 525 U.S. 70 (1998)
• Reves v. Ernst & Young · 494 U.S. 56 (1990)
• Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, Inc. · 537 U.S. 393 (2003)
• PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. v. Book · 538 U.S. 401 (2003)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).