On April 27, 2011, the Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act “preempts California’s rule classifying most collective arbitration waivers in consumer contracts as unconscionable.” AT&T v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. ____, majority at 5, 18 (2011). The Court referred to this rule as the “Discover Bank rule,” after the California Supreme Court’s decision in Discover Bank v. Superior Court, 36 Cal.4th 148 (2005), though variations of this public policy-based rule have been articulated by many other court decisions in California and elsewhere. Writing for the majority in a 5 to 4 opinion, Justice Scalia concluded that state laws that undermine the enforceability of class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements improperly obstruct the FAA.
Continue Reading Discover Bank Is Dead: The U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Federal Law Preempts State Laws That Obstruct The Enforcement Of Class Action Waivers In Arbitration Agreements
Arbitration
California Court of Appeal Holds Class Action Waiver in Commercial Contract Not Unconscionable
By Judy Suwatanapongched on
Posted in Arbitration, California Class Action
In Walnut Producers of California v. Diamond Foods, Inc., Case No. C060346 (August 16, 2010), the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District held that a class arbitration waiver in an agreement between walnut producers and a walnut processor is not unconscionable. Plaintiffs include Walnut Producers of California, a nonprofit cooperative marketing association whose members are walnut growers, and walnut producer George J. Miller Ranch, Inc. Defendant Diamond Foods is the successor by way of merger to Diamond Walnut Growers, Inc. (“Co-op”), an agricultural cooperative.
Continue Reading California Court of Appeal Holds Class Action Waiver in Commercial Contract Not Unconscionable