We previously wrote about a Ninth Circuit appeal dealing with the use of bellwether procedures to resolve mass arbitration claims brought by thousands of customers against Verizon Wireless. That appeal remains pending and is...more
After denying the defendants’ petitions for panel and en banc rehearing in the Blair v. Rent-a-Center appeals, the Ninth Circuit has granted their motions to stay the issuance of the Court’s mandates for 90 days pending the...more
The Supreme Court, in a sharply-divided 5-4 ruling issued on April 24, ruled that nothing in the Federal Arbitration Act allows courts to compel class action arbitration even if the contract is ambiguous in that regard, and...more
In an important ruling that further narrows the circumstances in which class arbitration will be permitted, the Supreme Court today held that under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)...more
In a widely anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision today in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis; Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris; and National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., upholding...more
Welcome news for many employers rolled out of Washington, D.C. earlier this morning. The Supreme Court has ended a long-running debate over the enforceability of arbitration agreements with class action waivers in the...more
As we reported last year, in October 2015 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published an outline of proposals that would limit the use of arbitration provisions in contracts for consumer financial products. On May 5,...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
On February 13, 2016, Justice Antonin Scalia, the anchor of the Court’s conservative wing for nearly three decades, passed away. He leaves behind a distinguished legal career that involved experience in wide range of roles....more
There seems to be no end in sight to the standoff between the National Labor Relations Board and at least a majority of the federal courts over the legality of arbitration agreements that require employees to waive the right...more
No one has done more to shape class action law than Justice Antonin Scalia. His unexpected passing yesterday, even while important class action cases remain under advisement, will spark a renewed push to tilt class action...more
In 2014, we blogged about a California state appellate court decision invalidating the arbitration clause in DIRECTV’s consumer contracts. We found that California decision to be noteworthy because it seemed to fly in the...more
On December 14, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court applied its landmark Concepcion decision and reversed a California appellate court’s ruling that an arbitration clause containing a class arbitration waiver was unenforceable under...more
The United States Supreme Court recently reversed a decision by the California Court of Appeal wherein the state court refused to enforce a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement. The Supreme Court enforced the class...more
On December 14, 2015, the United States Supreme Court in DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, 577 U.S. ___, No. 14-462, slip op. at 1 (Dec. 14, 2015), doubled down on its previous holdings that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”)...more
Facing yet another issue involving the arbitration of consumer disputes, the United States Supreme Court on December 14, 2015 held that a class action waiver clause was valid even when the contract incorporated state law...more
In DIRECTV v. Imburgia, the Supreme Court reversed the California Court of Appeal, which held that a contractual class arbitration waiver was unenforceable under California law, even though the arbitration provision at issue...more
In DirecTV v. Imburgia, No. 14-462, 2015 U.S. LEXIS 7999 (December 14, 2015) the United States Supreme Court reversed a California Court of Appeal decision interpreting, and invalidating, an arbitration clause containing a...more
On December 14, 2015, the United States Supreme Court considered a contract provision preventing classwide arbitration and providing that, “[i]f the law of your state would find this agreement to dispense with class...more
In DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia et al., the Supreme Court bolstered the preemptive power of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), once again overturning a state court’s holding that an arbitration agreement was unenforceable due...more
This is the second post in our series “The Supreme Court Preview,” - California state and federal courts have a rocky history with the U.S. Supreme Court, as the highest court in the land has repeatedly reversed the...more
On October 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it is considering two rulemaking proposals that would severely limit the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer financial service...more
On Wednesday, October 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued proposals that would, if adopted, limit the use of arbitration provisions in contracts for consumer financial products. The CFPB’s proposals would not...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering proposing rules that would prohibit consumer financial services companies from using class action waivers in consumer arbitration clauses, the CFPB announced...more
AB 465 is pending approval from Governor Jerry Brown. If approved, it will go into effect on January 1, 2016. Notably, AB 465 will prohibit California employers from requiring most individuals to enter into arbitration...more