| Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams | |
|---|---|
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| Argued November 6, 2000 Decided March 21, 2001 | |
| Full case name | Circuit City Stores, Incorporated, Petitioner v. Saint Clair Adams |
| Citations | 532 U.S. 105 (more) 121 S. Ct. 1302; 149 L. Ed. 2d 234 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | stay of state proceedings ordered and arbitration compelled, unreported (N.D. Cal., 1998); reversed and remanded, 194 F.3d 1070 (9th Cir. 1999); cert. granted, 529 U.S. 1129 (2000). |
| Subsequent | reversed and remanded on different ground, 279 F.3d 889 (9th Cir. 2002) |
| Holding | |
| The Federal Arbitration Act's exception of "contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or other classes of workers engaged in interstate commerce" does not apply to general employment contracts. | |
| Court membership | |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Kennedy, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia, Thomas |
| Dissent | Stevens, joined by Ginsburg, Breyer; Souter (Parts II and III) |
| Dissent | Souter, joined by Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Laws applied | |
| Federal Arbitration Act | |
Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams, 532 U.S. 105 (2001), was a United States Supreme Court case that concerned whether the "section one exemption" of the Federal Arbitration Act applied to an employment contract of an employee at Circuit City Stores. The Court held that the exemption was limited to the specific listing of professions contained in the text. This decision meant that general employment contracts, like the one Adams sued under, would have to be arbitrated in accordance with the federal statute.