Seyfarth Synopsis: The second key trend from our 16th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report involves rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. Over the past few years, the Supreme Court has issued a number of rulings that...more
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
The Restoring Statutory Rights Act of 2016, sponsored by Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, was sent to congressional committee on February 4, 2016 for consideration. The bill would place restrictions on companies’ use...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
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
In the aftermath of AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion and American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, consumer lawyers have frequently argued that arbitration agreements should be invalidated if features other than the...more
Two recent Ninth Circuit opinions and a California Supreme Court ruling demonstrate that the debate over the enforceability of consumer arbitration provisions is far from over. With the U.S. Supreme Court weighing whether to...more
On October 17, 2013, the California Supreme Court revisited the enforceability of arbitration agreements in California. The Court released its decision Sonic-Calabasas Inc. v. Moreno (Sonic II). In that 5 – 2 ruling, the...more
Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, No. S174475, (October 17, 2013): As expected following the recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States interpreting the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), the California Supreme...more
Why it matters: Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno (“Sonic II”) presents a mixed bag for employers. While the California Supreme Court reversed itself, acknowledging that the waiver of a Berman hearing is not per se...more
On October 17, 2013, in Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, the California Supreme Court issued a 73-page decision (excluding concurrence and dissent) that attempted to construe the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Federal...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