Bazzle

A nitpick, but: Thomas dissented in Bazzle and is still on the Court.

The Volokh Conspiracy » After Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.: Deciding When Class Arbitration Is Permissible 2010

The Stolt-Nielsen majority avoids that question by noting that only a plurality of the Court in Bazzle “decided that question” (whether “an arbitrator, not a court ... decide [s] whether a contract permits class arbitration”).

The Volokh Conspiracy » After Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.: Deciding When Class Arbitration Is Permissible 2010

Thus, the issue that the Court was unable to decide in Bazzle – whether the arbitrator or the court decides whether an agreement permits class arbitration – still seems to be unsettled.

The Volokh Conspiracy » After Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.: Deciding When Class Arbitration Is Permissible 2010

Mark N.: A nitpick, but: Thomas dissented in Bazzle and is still on the Court.

The Volokh Conspiracy » After Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.: Deciding When Class Arbitration Is Permissible 2010

Justice Kennedy, a dissenter in Green Tree Financial Corp v. Bazzle, 539 U.S. 456 (2002) – indeed, the last Bazzle dissenter still on the Court – joined the majority opinion today.

The Volokh Conspiracy » After Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.: Deciding When Class Arbitration Is Permissible 2010

Very interesting and surprising case if you are an employment lawyer or a consumer advocate, since it likely permits major employers are retailers of services and goods to the public, like banks and cable companies, to circumvent the risk of class actions entirely by burying arbitration clauses in adhesion contracts, which is what Bazzle eliminated.

The Volokh Conspiracy » After Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.: Deciding When Class Arbitration Is Permissible 2010

Justice Kennedy, a dissenter in Green Tree Financial Corp v. Bazzle – indeed, the last Bazzle dissenter still on theCourt ...

The Volokh Conspiracy » After Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.: Deciding When Class Arbitration Is Permissible 2010

The Bazzle dissent, however, took the position that the decision whether a contract permits class arbitration “is one for the courts, not for the arbitrator.”

The Volokh Conspiracy » After Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.: Deciding When Class Arbitration Is Permissible 2010

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Banda Bib « Happy Healthy Hip Parenting 2008

Thus, the issue that the Court was unable to decide in Bazzle–whether the arbitrator or the court decides whether an agreement permits class arbitration–still seems to be unsettled.

The Volokh Conspiracy » After Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.: Deciding When Class Arbitration Is Permissible 2010