The Court on Thursday continued its recent trend of strictly enforcing the terms of arbitration agreements, holding that a contractual waiver of class arbitration is enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) even if the cost of proving an individual claim in arbitration exceeds the potential recovery.
Last week’s argument in American Express Company v. Italian Colors Restaurant featured a lively discussion between virtually all of the Justices and counsel regarding the circumstances under which a federal antitrust claim can be “effectively vindicated” through arbitration, and whether an arbitration agreement with a class action waiver precludes the effective vindication of federal antitrust claims.
Next Wednesday, the Court will hear oral argument in American Express Company v. Italian Colors Restaurant, on the following question: “Whether the Federal Arbitration Act permits courts, invoking the ‘federal substantive law of arbitrability,’ to invalidate arbitration agreements on the ground