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
Consistent with prior US Supreme Court opinions, the Supreme Court held on April 24, 2019, that contractual ambiguity regarding class arbitration may not be construed against the drafter because of Federal Arbitration Act...more
A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") bars class arbitration actions when the agreement is ambiguous about the availability of such arbitration. The opinion strengthens protections...more
The legal profession as a whole is familiar with the basic principles of both class action litigation and bilateral arbitration. Class arbitration is a less common form of dispute resolution that the courts have debated for...more
In Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., the U.S. Supreme Court held that “a party may not be compelled” under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) “to submit to class arbitration unless there is a contractual...more
In 2013, Justice Alito’s concurrence in Oxford Health raised serious questions whether absent class members could be bound by an arbitrator’s incorrect determination that an arbitration agreement authorized class arbitration....more
After an employer allegedly released personally identifiable information of its employees as the result of a phishing scam, plaintiff employee filed a putative class action lawsuit, alleging claims including negligence,...more
When is “silence” in an arbitration clause concerning class arbitration not “Stolt-Nielsen silence”? And what is the difference between a “claim” and a “procedure”? The Ninth Circuit seemingly took hair-splitting to a new...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
An administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) found in favor of Talina Torres (“Torres”) against Employers Resource (“Employers”) after determining that an arbitration clause within an...more
Just last week Mintz Levin presented a webinar on how employers can use arbitration agreements as a tool to avoid exposure to wage and hour and other class actions. The thesis of the webinar was that recent Supreme Court and...more
The US Supreme Court affirmed a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upholding an arbitrator’s decision that a contract provided for class arbitration. The Court held that where parties consent to arbitrate...more
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in the first of two cases to be argued this term again raising questions regarding the enforceability of arbitration agreements and class action waivers. These cases...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision that has a significant impact on the ability of employers to avoid class-wide arbitration. In Fantastic Sams Franchise Corporation v. FSRO Association Ltd., the...more