The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela, No. 17-988. The question presented in the petition for certiorari is: “Whether the Federal Arbitration Act forecloses a state-law interpretation of an arbitration agreement that would authorize class arbitration based solely on general language commonly used in arbitration agreements.”

The Court will

The Supreme Court began its new Term yesterday with oral arguments in cases involving whether arbitration agreements permitting only individual (non-class) arbitrations are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act, or prohibited by the National Labor Relations Act as an improper restriction on collective action. It is a case that essentially pits one federal statute against

The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in class action cases involving: (1) class action waivers in employment contracts; and (2) whether filing of a securities class action tolled a statute of repose. In both cases the questions presented are relatively narrow, but opinions issued by the Supreme Court potentially could have broader implications for

In industries other than insurance, arbitration provisions have become a key technique used to defend against class actions. The U.S. Supreme Court has made it quite clear over the last few years that it will enforce the use of an arbitration provision that requires arbitration of individual claims and essentially bars the filing of class

The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued its opinion in American Express Company v. Italian Colors Restaurant, No. 12-133, addressing whether an arbitration clause prohibiting class-action arbitrations is enforceable when the cost of arbitrating a federal statutory claim on an individual basis exceeds the potential recovery.  The Court held, 5-3, that such prohibitions on class

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter, No. 12-135, addressing whether an arbitrator exceeded his powers in deciding that a contract provided for class arbitration (i.e., a class action arbitration proceeding).  The Court held that the arbitrator did not exceed his powers in making that ruling

What restrictions are there, if any, on companies’ use of arbitration clauses that prohibit class action arbitrations?  On February 27, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case that may address that question.  American Express Company v. Italian Colors Restaurant, No. 12-133 (transcript) is a sequel to the Supreme Court’s

A recent decision by the Eastern District of California addressed several significant issues in a putative class action alleging that an insurer improperly failed to cover the cost of replacing seatbelts after serious auto accidents.  In Watts v. Allstate Indemnity Company, No. CIV. S-08-1877 LKK/GGH, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7407 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 17

On November 9, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, No. 12-133 (order granting certiorari; docket).  The question presented is “Whether the Federal Arbitration Act permits courts, invoking the ‘federal substantive law of arbitrability,’ to invalidate arbitration agreements on the ground that they do

A recent column by David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times, “Microsoft Ending Consumers’ Ability to File Class-Action Suits,” reports that Microsoft is implementing arbitration provisions with class action waiver provisions.  The article discusses a blog post by Tim Fielden, Assistant General Counsel of Microsoft regarding this change.  Fielden’s blog post explains: