As this blog has previously discussed, the availability of class arbitration has been significantly restricted after a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions. However, we have also noted that express preclusion of class arbitration remains advisable for companies because they eliminate the ability of state courts and arbitrators to read permission for class arbitration
Lamps Plus v. Varela: It’s Lights Out for Class Arbitration under Ambiguous Arb Agreements
We have written before about the utility of class waivers in arbitration agreements as a defense to classwide arbitration. As we previously discussed, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Stolt-Nielson S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp. that arbitration agreements that were silent on the question of class arbitration could not support the arbitration of class claims.
Be Careful What You Ask For: Eleventh Circuit Holds That Arbitrator – Not Court – Decides Whether Arbitration Agreement Designating AAA Rules Allows for Class Arbitration
The Eleventh Circuit has held that, absent express language to the contrary in the arbitration agreement itself, whether class arbitration is permitted under an arbitration agreement selecting American Arbitration Association (AAA) rules is an issue for the arbitrator to decide (Spirit Airlines, Inc. v. Maizes, No. 17-14415 (11th Cir. Aug. 15, 2018))