In its June 20 decision in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, the Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act requires enforcement of a class-action ban in an arbitration clause even if forcing the plaintiff to aribtrate individually would make it economically impossible for the plaintiff to vindicate its rights under federal law (in that case, rights under the federal antitrust laws). In this essay, law professor Linda Mullenix reviews the key propositions established in Italian Colors and describes the Second Circuit's August 9 ruling in Sutherland v. Ernst & Young, which applied the Supreme Court's holding to a suit under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
