Supreme Court to hear case about class arbitration

In addition to taking the case that Brian blogged about below, the Supreme Court this morning granted a petition in Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varella, which raises the question presented:

Whether the Federal Arbitration Act forecloses a state-law interpretation of an arbitration agreement that would authorize class arbitration based solely on general language commonly used in arbitration agreements.

 

FWIW, the cert opp, which my colleague Scott Nelson drafted, frames the questions this way:

  1. Did the  court  of  appeals  err  in  construing  the distinctive  language  of  the  arbitration  agreement  at  issue in this case to authorize class arbitration?
  1. Did the  court  of  appeals  have  appellate  jurisdiction  over  the  petitioners'  appeal  of  the  district  court's order granting their motion to compel arbitration, directing arbitration to proceed, and dismissing respondent's claims without prejudice?

The Supreme Court's docket, with links to the petition-stage filings, is here. The case will be briefed over the spring and summer, and argued next fall.

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