The Sixth Circuit just became the third federal court of appeals to hold that an arbitration provision requiring employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to arbitrate individually all employment-related...more
Over the last decade, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a string of opinions with profound implications for the enforceability of arbitration provisions and class action waivers in consumer contracts. These decisions, the most...more
As the number of Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuits has grown, employers have started taking notice of the power a sizable class made up of numerous employees can command. Arbitration provisions – once the realm of...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied a petition for certiorari that challenged a California Supreme Court decision carving out an exception to the federal high court’s recent holdings in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion and...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States declined review of a state supreme court case that has sparked widespread flux in the landscape of class action arbitration waivers in California. In Iskanian v. CLS...more
Recent Supreme Court precedent has clearly reinforced the validity of contractual class action/arbitration waivers. In AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, the Court made clear that class action waivers are enforceable, even if...more
Alright, we all know in the wake of Italian Colors, Concepcion, and now many other cases that the presumption of arbitrability isn’t just a doctrine to recite in the manner of saying grace before invalidating an agreement,...more
Defining the power of arbitration agreements has been a hot topic at the federal and state levels for the past couple of years. In a recent post, we discussed two North Carolina Court of Appeals decisions that validated the...more
A number of recent court decisions have addressed the enforceability of contract clauses that call for alternative dispute resolution procedures instead of traditional courtroom litigation. ...more
Class action lawsuits filed against natural gas producers have become increasingly common. For example, in Pennsylvania over the last several years, royalty owners have filed a number of royalty and bonus-payment class action...more
As an employer, you may sometimes feel as though a large “Sue Me” target has been painted on your chest. It is no illusion — plaintiff employment lawyers have pinned it there so they can aim their wage-and-hour class-action...more
In an abrupt but not unexpected reversal, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has been forced to change its position on class action waivers in arbitration agreements in light of a new decision by the U.S. Supreme...more
In its recent decision in Am. Express Co. v. Italian Colors Rest., 133 S. Ct. 2304 (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court further buttressed the use of class-action waivers in arbitration agreements, finding such waivers enforceable...more
Prior to its summer recess, the U.S. Supreme Court issued another decision concerning class arbitration which has implications for unionized and non-unionized employers with agreements to arbitrate workplace disputes....more
In another employer-friendly decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reinforced its support for class action waivers, ruling in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant that an explicit class action waiver in an arbitration...more
When a person agrees to a contract that prohibits class-wide proceedings — whether in court or in arbitration — can a court refuse to enforce that contract because it would make no economic sense for an individual to spend...more
As our readers will no doubt recall, the Supreme Court boldly struck a blow for truth, justice and the American Way a few years ago in its approval of class action waivers in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 131 S. Ct. 1740...more
On June 20, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) “does not permit courts to invalidate a contractual...more
On June 20, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant that reaffirmed the Court's landmark decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, a case that upheld the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court today delivered a knock-out punch to the last major court challenge to the use of class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements....more