9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
Alternative Dispute Resolution,
U.S. Supreme Court,
Litigation & Arbitration
Feb. 5, 2008
Contract Conflict
The state Supreme Court and the 9th Circuit both have generated murky procedures guiding classwide arbitration agreements for employees and consumers.
Lawrence Waddington
Neutral
JAMS
Email: waddington1@aol.com
Lawrence is a retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge and former assistant attorney general for the state of California. He is author of "Disorder in the Court" at Amazon.com. He also edits the 9th Circuit blog, "The 9th Circuit Watch."
In four sentences, the California Supreme Court summarized its decision precluding waiver of classwide arbitration agreements included in employment contracts. "[I]n some cases prohibition of classwide relief would undermine vindication of employees' unwaivable statutory rights." Gentry v. Sup.Ct., 42 Cal.4th 443 (2007); Labor Code 1194. Accordingly, such "class arbitration waivers should not be enforced ... if the trial court finds classwide arbitration ineffective to vindicate s...
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