Supreme Court Upholds Arbitrator's Ruling on Class Arbitration But Defers Question of Arbitrability

Surprising many observers, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld an arbitrator’s decision to permit class arbitration even though the parties’ agreement did not explicitly provide for such procedures.

In Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter [here], the arbitration clause stated in part that “[n]o civil action concerning any dispute arising under this Agreement shall be instituted before any court.”  The Court said that the arbitrator, who read the clause to permit arbitration on a classwide basis rather than limiting it to bilateral disputes between the contracting parties before him, did not exceed his powers in doing so.

To read this blog post click here