Domino's Pizza, Inc. v. McDonald
| Domino's Pizza, Inc. v. McDonald | |
|---|---|
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| Argued December 6, 2005 Decided February 22, 2006 |
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| Full case name | Domino's Pizza, Inc., et al. v. John McDonald |
| Docket nos. | 04-593 |
| Citations | 546 U.S. 470 (more)
126 S. Ct. 1246; 163 L. Ed. 2d 1069; 2006 U.S. LEXIS 1821; 74 U.S.L.W. 4129
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| Prior history | Dismissed, No. 02-00311 (D. Nev. Aug. 22, 2002); reversed, 107 Fed. Appx. 18 (9th Cir. 2004); rehearing denied (9th Cir. Aug. 2, 2004); cert. granted, 125 S. Ct. 1928 (2005) |
| Holding | |
| The agent of a party to a contract cannot state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, because he himself does not have rights to make or enforce under the contract. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed. | |
| Court membership | |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Scalia, joined by Roberts, Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws applied | |
| 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (Civil Rights Act of 1866 § 1) | |
Domino's Pizza, Inc. v. McDonald, 546 U.S. 470 (2006), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States involving claims for racial discrimination against the right to make and enforce contracts under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, a key civil rights provision in U.S. law that was originally enacted as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The Court ruled unanimously, in an opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, that because agents of parties to contracts do not personally have rights under those contracts, they cannot state a claim under section 1981.
John McDonald, an African American entrepreneur, was the sole shareholder and president of JWM Investments, Inc. (JWM), a company organized under Nevada law. JWM and the restaurant chain Domino's Pizza entered into several contracts, under which JWM was to construct four restaurants in the Las Vegas area and then lease them to Domino's. McDonald claimed that after the first restaurant was built, Domino's agent refused to execute documents that the contracts required to facilitate JWM's bank financing, and convinced the Las Vegas Valley Water District to change its recorded ownership of the land slated for restaurant construction from JWM to Domino's (which McDonald managed to subsequently change back).
McDonald wanted to see the contracts completed, but claimed that the agent threatened "serious consequences" if he did not back out. The agent was alleged to have said to McDonald "I don't like dealing with you people anyway," a phrase she did not explain. The contracts were never completed, and at least in part because of that JWM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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