My students are sometimes surprised to learn that statutory rights are, with a handful of very minor exceptions, fully arbitrable. That surprise often turns to indignation when they read Justice Scalia’s majority opinion in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, 133 S. Ct. 2304 (2013), and realize that this is true even absent
The 9th Circuit’s decision to enforce the arbitration agreement in Uber’s agreements with drivers made lots of news last week. And although it includes no new principles of law, it does emphasize some principles that come up regularly in consumer and employment arbitration, so it’s worth reviewing the details.
Former drivers brought an action in
Lots of interesting arbitration law has been made already in 2016, so here is a roundup from the first four weeks of the year. As a teaser, courts have breathed life into the effective vindication doctrine, found arbitrators cannot determine the availability of class actions, and found state laws not preempted. More surprisingly, state courts
Almost two years ago in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors, SCOTUS significantly narrowed, but did not overrule, the “effective vindication” doctrine, which allows plaintiffs to invalidate an arbitration agreement if it precludes them from effectively vindicating their federal statutory rights. A decision today from the Eighth Circuit shows just how difficult it is
California is the Judd Nelson of The Preemption Club. (Or the John Bender, if you prefer using character names.) The Supreme Court has sent the California courts to preemption detention for ignoring the Federal Arbitration Act in blockbuster, groundbreaking cases (see Concepcion). But California cannot help itself. It keeps coming up with novel arguments
In American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, a divided Supreme Court today reversed the Second Circuit and held that plaintiffs may not invalidate an arbitration agreement containing a class action waiver merely because proving their claims on an individual basis would cost many times more than their potential recovery. In doing so, Justice
On January 29, the U.S. Dept. of Justice filed an amicus brief supporting respondents in AmEx III, arguing that to enforce the class arbitration waiver would be to create a large loophole for important federal laws. The Solicitor General has also asked to argue at the hearing on February 27. To my knowledge, DOJ