Takeaway: To control litigation risk, a business might include an arbitration clause and class action waiver in its consumer-facing terms and conditions. When a consumer files a putative class action against that business,...more
Takeaway: In Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., --- S. Ct. ----, No. 21-328, 2022 WL 1611788 (May 23, 2022), the Supreme Court rejected the arbitration-specific rule requiring a finding of prejudice for a waiver of the right to...more
We have written a number of articles about California’s restrictions on arbitration agreements, including California’s “McGill rule,” which provides that arbitration agreements cannot waive claims for “public injunctive...more
Takeaway: In TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, --- S. Ct. ----, No. 20-297, 2021 WL 2599472 (June 25, 2021), the Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve the question of “[w]hether either Article III or Rule 23 permits a damages...more
7/1/2021
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Class Members ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
TransUnion ,
TransUnion LLC v Ramirez
Takeaway: In a prior article – Class action standing: Ninth Circuit holds members of a damages class must demonstrate Article III standing (March 31, 2020) – we discussed the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Ramirez v....more
Takeaway: The concept of class arbitration has endured stiff headwinds. In Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varella, 139 S. Ct. 1407 (2019), the Supreme Court ruled that a party cannot be required to participate in a class arbitration...more
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varella, No. 17-988, 2019 WL 1780275 (U.S. Apr. 24, 2019), a lot of ink has been spilled on the issue of class arbitration. The Lamps Plus majority,...more
5/13/2019
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Arbitration ,
Consent ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Lamps Plus Inc v Varela ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS
As we predicted in a January 2019 post [Cy pres-only class settlements – anticipated Supreme Court decision may never come to pass], the United States Supreme Court, in a closely-watched case, declined to rule on the fairness...more
3/29/2019
/ Class Action ,
Cy Pres Funds ,
Frank v Gaos ,
FRCP 23(e) ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Stored Communications Act ,
Vacated
Takeaway: Justice Kavanaugh’s first Supreme Court opinion is yet another High Court reminder that, when it comes to arbitration, the contract controls. If parties agree that an arbitrator should resolve the “gateway” issue...more
1/23/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitrators ,
Contract Terms ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Henry Schein Inc v Archer and White Sales Inc ,
Judicial Review ,
Motion to Compel ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Wholly Groundless Doctrine
Takeaway: On April 30, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in a Ninth Circuit case approving a cy pres-only class action settlement. As we reported in a May 2018 post [U.S. Supreme Court puts class action doubleheader...more
On April 30, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in two class action cases, on issues involving cy pres awards and class arbitration. Both cases arise out of the Ninth Circuit.
The Supreme Court’s decision in the cy...more
Takeaway: In Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540 (2016) (“Spokeo II”), the Supreme Court ruled that not every statutory violation gives rise to a concrete injury for standing purposes. An inaccurate report of a person’s...more
On May 16, 2016, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Spokeo v. Robins, No. 13-1339, which presented the question of whether a plaintiff has standing in federal court to assert a claim where the only...more
“Picking-off” a named class representative is a class action defendant’s dream. Faced with a class action in which the named plaintiff seeks a small recovery on an individual basis but an enormous recovery on a class basis,...more