On April 27, the United States Supreme Court published its decision in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int'l Corp., No. 08-1198, an antitrust case that could have far-reaching implications with respect to class arbitration. (A copy of the Court's slip opinion is available here.) In a 5–3 decision, the Court held that parties who had never agreed on the issue of whether to allow class arbitration under the arbitration agreement between them – and whose arbitration agreement made no mention whatsoever of class arbitration – could not be required to submit to class arbitration under the agreement. In so holding, the Court ruled that "a party may not be compelled under the [Federal Arbitration Act] to submit to class arbitration unless there is a contractual basis for concluding that the party agreed to do so."
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