Haynes and Boone, LLP
  July 29, 2010 - United States of America

Litigating Arbitration Agreements: Recent United States Supreme Court Decisions Provide Guidance to Employers Looking to Avoid Court
  by Arthur T. Carter, Matthew Thomas Deffebach, Karen Coomer Denney, Felicity A. Fowler, Melissa M. Goodman, Laura E. O'Donnell, Dean J. Schaner, Erin Shea, William C. Strock, Jonathan C. Wilson

Despite entering into arbitration agreements with their employees, employers all too often find themselves in court adverse to the very employees who have signed an arbitration agreement. The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued three arbitration decisions that have important implications for employers seeking to avoid the inside of a courtroom. First, in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., the Court issued an employer-friendly decision that prohibits class action arbitration, unless the parties specifically provide for and consent to class action proceedings in their arbitration agreement. This decision could potentially halt employees, who are subject to an arbitration agreement, from bringing or joining class actions in court.

The other two cases, Rent-A-Center West v. Jackson and Granite Rock Co. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, addressed whether it is the court or an arbitrator’s role to decide enforceability challenges to an arbitration agreement. Rent-A-Center held that arbitrators are the proper decision-makers of unconscionability challenges, unless the party asserting unconscionability specifically challenges the “delegation provision” granting the arbitrator authority to hear the case. By contrast, in Granite Rock Co., the Supreme Court concluded that courts, rather than arbitrators, are the proper decision makers when a party challenges the formation of the contract containing the agreement to arbitrate.

To read the full alert, click on Link to article below.

For more information, please contact the Haynes and Boone attorney with whom you work or any of the following attorneys in the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group:

Arthur T. Carter
214.651.5683
arthur.carter@haynesboone.com

Felicity A. Fowler
713.547.2072
felicity.fowler@haynesboone.com

Dean J. Schaner
713.547.2044
dean.schaner@haynesboone.com

Matthew T. Deffebach
713.547.2064
matthew.deffebach@haynesboone.com

Melissa M. Goodman
214.651.5628
melissa.goodman@haynesboone.com

Erin E. Shea
214.651.5226
erin.shea@haynesboone.com

Jonathan C. Wilson
214.651.5646
jonathan.wilson@haynesboone.com

Karen C. Denney
817.347.6616
karen.denney@haynesboone.com

Laura E. O’Donnell
210.978.7421
laura.odonnell@haynesboone.com

William C. Strock
214.651.5623
bill.strock@haynesboone.com




Footnotes:




Read full article at: http://www.haynesboone.com/litigating_arbitration_agreements/