Two recent opinions by the Ninth and Second Circuits illustrate that challenges to the enforceability of arbitration agreements have not been dampened by a string of pro-arbitration Supreme Court rulings in the last decade. ...more
On March 26, the American Bankers Association and the Consumer Bankers Association, represented by Ballard Spahr, filed an amicus brief in support of petitions for certiorari asking the Supreme Court to review the Ninth...more
Under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), “a party may not be compelled . . . to submit to class arbitration unless there is a contractual basis for concluding that the party agreed to do so.” Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v....more
It now looks as though the Supreme Court is ready to receive, and we think grant, a petition for writ of certiorari in Blair v. Rent-A-Center (and related cases) that could spell doom for California’s McGill rule under which...more
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
US Supreme Court Issues Trio of Arbitration Decisions - During its 2018-19 term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions in three cases involving arbitration matters. These decisions, discussed further in our September 26,...more
For most small to medium-sized businesses, the threat of a class action is not usually front-of-mind. However, as a business grows, the threat can increase depending on the number of employees and the nature of the work being...more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 term was a busy one for arbitration, with the Court issuing rulings in three cases addressing questions of the reach and interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The Court has already...more
Perhaps the most shocking aspect of employment-related cases from the 2018-2019 Supreme Court term that just wrapped up was the number of unanimous decisions – seven of the eight rulings – were agreed upon by all of the...more
Add the Fifth Circuit to the growing list of Federal Circuit Courts that have decided that “class arbitrability” is a gateway question for a court, rather than an arbitrator, to decide in the first instance, absent the...more
Recently, the Supreme Court imposed yet another roadblock to class arbitration in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela. Relying on Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp., the Court ruled that ambiguous language in an...more
The U.S. Supreme Court term that ended in June 2019 included decisions on many topics important to workplace law, including class actions, arbitration, and administrative exhaustion and Title VII claims. ...more
The Supreme Court’s October 2018-2019 term began with the highly politicized confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. But despite some expectations that the new makeup of the Court would be more divided than the previous...more
The U.S. Supreme Court issued two 5-4 decisions in as many months regarding class procedures. Lamp Plus, Inc. v. Varela, 587 U. S. ____ (2019) was favorable to corporate defendants by limiting the availability of class...more
This edition of Employment Flash looks at developments in labor and employment law, including regarding a DOJ appeal of the EEOC's heightened pay reporting requirements, the NLRB's decision narrowing the circumstances under...more
On April 24, 2019, in a 5-4 decision split along ideological lines, the Supreme Court held in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela that class arbitration is not available where arbitration agreements are unclear about whether the...more
We have good news from the U.S. Supreme Court for creditors who use arbitration agreements. On April 24, 2019, in Lamps Plus v. Varela, the Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that courts may no longer infer from an...more
Last year, the United States Supreme Court ruled that class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements are enforceable. But, the ruling did not address an agreement that is silent or ambiguous regarding the intent to...more
On April 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 5–4 opinion in Lamps Plus, Inc., et al. v. Varela holding that class arbitration is only allowed when the parties’ agreement explicitly allows for it. In other words, when...more
In a case with important implications for employers, Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, the United States Supreme Court held that class-wide arbitration may not be compelled pursuant to an arbitration agreement that is ambiguous as...more
On April 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an ambiguous arbitration agreement does not provide a sufficient basis to conclude that parties agreed to class arbitration....more
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varella, No. 17-988, 2019 WL 1780275 (U.S. Apr. 24, 2019), a lot of ink has been spilled on the issue of class arbitration. The Lamps Plus majority,...more
In 2016, a hacker tricked an employee of petitioner Lamps Plus Inc. into disclosing tax information of about 1,300 company employees. ...more
Predictably, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, No. 17-988, 2019 U.S. LEXIS 2943 (U.S. April 24, 2019), that, under the Federal Arbitration Act, neither silence nor “ambiguity” in an arbitration...more
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) handed employers a major win in Epic Systems v. Lewis, when it ruled that employees must submit claims to arbitration on an individualized basis when their employment agreements...more