Earlier this year, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in Pace v. Hamilton Cove that class action waivers in consumer contracts that do not contain an arbitration clause (i.e., a stand-alone class action waiver) are not per se...more
In the long-awaited newest chapter of case law discussing the validity and enforceability of arbitration clauses and class action waivers, the Ninth Circuit on October 28, 2024, dealt a setback, though not a fatal blow, to...more
On October 28, 2024, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling in Heckman v. Live Nation, finding Live Nation’s Ticketmaster arbitration agreement unconscionable and therefore unenforceable based on their terms...more
A group of small businesses and their individual owners have filed a putative class action lawsuit in a New York federal district court against online lender Kabbage, Inc. that alleges Kabbage engaged in a “rent-a-charter”...more
Recently, the California Supreme Court invalidated a mandatory arbitration agreement in OTO, LLC v. Kho (August 29, 2019) finding the agreement was both procedurally and substantively unconscionable. The case involved...more
In a major victory for ride-share company Uber Technologies, Inc. ("Uber"), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its much anticipated opinion in O'Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc., Case No....more
Utilizing a “sweeping reading of Concepcion,” as characterized by the concurring opinion, the Ninth Circuit has ruled that arguments that “a class action waiver, by itself, is unconscionable under state law or that an...more
The U.S. Supreme Court, in recent years, has provided companies with a powerful tool to avoid class action lawsuits: arbitration. In a series of decisions, the Supreme Court has held that class action waivers in otherwise...more
Businesses across the country regularly bemoan the time and expense of litigation. Even when businesses are successful in defending non-meritorious consumer claims alleging unfair or deceptive practices, false advertising,...more
Companies looking to waive class action rights of employees may instead be waving goodbye to provisions in their employment contracts. Two recent decisions in California—one administrative and one in the 9th Circuit—recently...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
The court held that a number of the provisions in the subject arbitration agreements were unconscionable, including a delegation clause providing that disputes involving the arbitration agreement be decided in arbitration....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
Last week, in DIRECTV v. Imburgia, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision once again re-affirming the strong federal policy in favor of arbitration. At issue in this case was a service agreement entered into...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
Last week, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Direct TV v. Imburgia, 577 U.S. ___ (2015). This decision is important for manufacturers of consumer products because it fortifies the ability to incorporate...more
On December 14, 2015, in DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a California State Court of Appeal decision that had invalidated an arbitration provision based on language from the agreement rendering the...more
In DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, a decision released this week, the United States Supreme Court rejected the California Court of Appeal’s interpretation of a binding arbitration provision that would have rendered unenforceable a...more
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated opinion in DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia et al., 577 U.S. ___ (2015), which reaffirmed its ruling in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 56 U.S. 333 (2011), dealing...more
In a 6-3 decision yesterday, the Supreme Court in DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, 577 U.S. ___, S. Ct. (2015) reversed a decision of the California Court of Appeals that refused to enforce a class action arbitration waiver on...more
Action Item: The United States Supreme Court continues to find that federal law strongly favors arbitration clauses. The Supreme Court’s decision in DIRECTV should provide some reassurance to companies that arbitration...more
For the second time in four years, the U.S. Supreme Court has overruled a California decision that refused to enforce an arbitration agreement with a class action waiver, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) trumps...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
Sound advice that the world has lived with since 1512…until recently flushed by the Ninth Circuit. Not so quick to discard 500 years of wisdom, however, the Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether this idiom will rest in...more