The Supreme Court Considers Whether Class Arbitration is Permitted When the Arbitration Clause is Silent on the Issue
The United States Supreme Court yesterday heard oral argument in Stolt-Nielsen SA, et al. v. Animal Feeds, No. 08-1198, to decide whether, under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), an arbitration panel exceeded its authority by issuing an award imposing class arbitration on parties whose arbitration clause governed by federal maritime law is silent on that issue. Although a similar question was presented in a prior case, Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Bazzle, 539 U.S. 444 (2003), the Court did not reach the issue at that time. The Court now appears poised to resolve this important question.