In American Express Co. et al. v. Italian Colors Restaurant et al., the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a class arbitration waiver agreement, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) bars courts from invalidating class action arbitration waivers. The Second Circuit had held that the agreement in this case was unenforceable because plaintiffs’ costs to arbitrate […]
Category Archives: Arbitration Issues
Antitrust Enforcement Agencies Oppose Use of Arbitration Clause to Block Class Actions
March 19, 2013 – 1:21 pm
In American Express Co. et al. v. Italian Colors Restaurant et al., the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether an arbitration agreement can legitimately include a waiver of the right to class adjudication. The Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, and the Federal Trade Commission have filed a brief arguing that the provision improperly prevents parties […]
Eighth Circuit Denies Grocery Wholesalers’ Bid for Arbitration of Antitrust Claims
February 25, 2013 – 12:11 pm
In In re: Wholesale Grocery Products Antitrust Litigation, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed certain retailers to pursue their claims against SuperValu Inc. and C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc., instead of forcing them to go to arbitration. Several retailers are each trying to bring class action antitrust claims against either SuperValu or C&S over an agreement […]
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether Credit Card Companies May Require Merchants to Waive Class Action Rights in Arbitration Agreements
December 21, 2012 – 3:09 pm
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari to decide “whether the Federal Arbitration Act [FAA] permits courts, invoking the ‘federal substantive law of arbitrability,’ to invalidate arbitration agreements on the ground that they do not permit class arbitration of a federal-law claim.” The case involves a credit card company’s adoption of an arbitration requirement compelling […]
Arbitration Denied in Digital Voice Service Antitrust Suit
August 31, 2012 – 10:04 am
In Fromer v. Comcast Corp. et al., District of Connecticut Judge Stefan Underhill denied Comcast Corp.’s request to send a customer’s putative class action antitrust suit to arbitration, holding that under the Second Circuit’s ruling in American Express III, the waiver is void because plaintiff can show that the class action waiver in the arbitration […]
Second Circuit Affirms that Blackberry’s Backing out of Joint Production Deal Not Anticompetitive
July 2, 2012 – 4:45 pm
In Eatoni Ergonomics Inc. v. Research in Motion Corp. et al, the Second Circuit affirmed the trial court’s decision that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) did not violate the antitrust laws when it backed out of a joint product development deal with Eastoni Ergonomics. In 2004, Eatoni accused RIM’s BlackBerry devices of infringing […]
Arbitration Rejected in Private E-books Case
July 2, 2012 – 4:34 pm
In In re: Electronic Books Antitrust Litigation, multi-district litigation, Southern District of New York Judge Denise Cote rejected publisher Penguin Group’s motion to compel arbitration for plaintiffs who purchased e-books from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, both of which contain arbitration clauses in their purchase agreements. The complaint accuses Penguin and other publishers of fixing […]
Court Allows Price-Fixing Conspiracy Claims Against LCD Panel Makers To Move Forward
April 30, 2012 – 12:54 pm
In Jaco Electronics Inc. v. AU Optronics Corp. et al., Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston denied a motion to dismiss, filed by NEC Corp., and other LCD panel makers, allowing Jaco Electronics Inc.’s, antitrust lawsuit to move forward. Jaco’s suit is part of multidistrict litigation over a massive LCD price-fixing conspiracy, alleging that […]
Motion to Dismiss Denied in Credit Card Arbitration Conspiracy Case
March 2, 2012 – 3:43 pm
Southern District of New York federal judge U.S. District Judge Willam H. Pauley denied Discover Bank and Citigroup Inc.’s motion to dismiss claims in multidistrict litigation claiming that credit card issuers conspired to insert anti-competitive arbitration clauses in their customer agreements. Citigroup and Discover are the only remaining defendants in a case alleging that the […]