7 The Supreme Court and Class Arbitration: There and Back Again

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the Supreme Court's decisions addressing when parties have agreed to class arbitration, and, importantly, reviewing arbitral awards on that question. Arbitration agreements almost never expressly authorize arbitration to proceed on a class basis. Conversely, arbitration agreements often, although not always, expressly preclude class arbitration i. e, include class arbitration waivers. The enforceability of class arbitration waivers has been the subject of much litigation, culminating in ATpT Mobility LLC v. Concepcion and American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant . The chapter describes how the Court's class arbitration journey began with Bazzle and continues on the journey with Stolt-Nielsen. It offers some thoughts on the issue still unresolved after all three cases who decide whether a silent arbitration clause authorizes class arbitration. Keywords: arbitral awards; Bazzle ; class arbitration; Stolt-Nielsen; Supreme Court