The Case Is Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela.
Yesterday, I posted about three arbitration cases pending before the Supreme Court, one of which is Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela. Charlotte Garden, Co-Associate Dean For Research and Faculty Development, and Associate Professor at the Seattle University School of Law, has drilled down with a preview of arguments in the Lamps Plus case in today's Scotusblog.
"In Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela," Prof. Garden explains, "the Supreme Court will decide whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit correctly held that an employer did consent to class arbitration when it included language in the arbitration contract that committed the parties to use arbitration 'in lieu of any and all lawsuits or other civil legal proceedings,' specified that arbitral claims include those 'that, in the absence of this Agreement, would have been available to the parties by law,' and authorized the arbitrator to 'award any remedy allowed by applicable law.'" [Query whether a convoluted explanation puts the 9th Circuit behind the eight ball]. Then Prof. Garden has some fun explaining the sub-arguments in the case that could, conceivably, enable SCOTUS to duck the issue entirely if it so chose to do.
COMMENT: If SCOTUS were to reach the merits and conclude that the correct result is that the allegedly ambiguous arbitration clause referencing legal proceedings that "would have been available to the parties by law" authorizes class arbitration, it seems likely that sophisticated employers will soon find a drafting solution to forestall class arbitration in the future. Or SCOTUS may save them the effort.
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