Class Action Arbitration Waivers After Stolt-Nielsen
Drafting and Defending Waivers Amid Evolving Case Law
Supreme Court refuses to impose class arbitration where agreement silent on class arbitration
Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE webinar will provide practitioners with an analysis of the impact of Stolt-Nielsen on the enforceability of class arbitration waivers and a review of emerging case law interpreting Stolt-Nielsen and open issues for future litigation. The panel will provide best practices for drafting enforceable waivers.
Outline
- Analysis of Stolt-Nielsen decision
- Impact on Green Tree v. Bazzle and Hall Street Associates v. Mattel
- Issues left unresolved by the Court
- Subsequent case law
- Supreme Court’s vacatur and remand in In re American Express Merchants’ Litigation
- Supreme Court’s granting of cert in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion
- Emerging lower court decisions applying Stolt-Nielsen
- Strategies for drafting class action arbitration waivers
- Principle of bilaterality or fairness
- Cost of arbitration
- Location of arbitration
- Choice-of-law clause
- Right of prevailing consumer or employee to recover counsel fees
- Contractual fee-shifting clause
- Limited class action arbitration alternatives
- Best practices for enforcing class action waivers in court
- Reliance on case law enforcing waivers
- Class actions are just procedural devices
- Fee-shifting statutes
- Determining unconscionability at time of contracting, not when lawsuit filed
- FAA preemption arguments
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key questions:
- What contractual language is needed to evidence an intent to submit to class arbitrations?
- How does the Stolt-Nielsen ruling impact the standard for vacatur of an arbitral award?
- What is the anticipated impact of Stolt Nielsen on consumer arbitrations?
- In vacating the Second Circuit’s American Express ruling, is the Supreme Court giving credence to giving class arbitration waivers greater legal effect?
Faculty
Bryan A. Fratkin
Partner
McGuireWoods
His practice focuses on business litigation, with an emphasis on consumer financial services, securities, and antitrust... | Read More
His practice focuses on business litigation, with an emphasis on consumer financial services, securities, and antitrust litigation. He represents clients involved in disputes that include allegations of fraud, conspiracy, civil RICO, and breach of contract. In several cases brought as purported class actions, he has prevailed on motions requiring arbitration on an individual, non-class, basis.
CloseArchis A. Parasharami
Partner
Mayer Brown
Mr. Parasharami has experience litigating the enforceability of arbitration agreements, with a particular emphasis... | Read More
Mr. Parasharami has experience litigating the enforceability of arbitration agreements, with a particular emphasis on consumer contracts. He has advised businesses on drafting arbitration clauses in a wide variety of settings and has co-authored a number of articles on arbitration. He also handles employment matters, and has authored amicus briefs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and for a number of businesses.
CloseTodd L. Nunn
Partner
K&L Gates
His practice emphasizes electronic discovery and document production and class action defense. His class action... | Read More
His practice emphasizes electronic discovery and document production and class action defense. His class action defense experience includes defense of numerous nationwide and statewide consumer protection class actions. He has also defended government regulation, products liability, environmental, employment and securities class actions.
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