Supreme Court Won’t Review Class Arbitrability Question Now, But Second Circuit May Hear Case That Could Generate Circuit Split
By Andrew C. Glass and Roger L. Smerage
The United States Supreme Court recently declined to review a Third Circuit decision holding that ordinarily a court, not an arbitrator, determines the availability of classwide arbitration. Opalinski v. Robert Half International, Inc. 761 F.3d 326 (3d Cir. 2014), cert. denied No. 14-625, — S. Ct. —-, 2015 WL 998611 (U.S. Mar. 9, 2015). The Opalinski decision is important to businesses that use consumer arbitration agreements. The benefits of traditional, individual arbitration – such as lower costs, confidentiality, and the limited scope of an arbitrator’s award – are typically not present in class arbitration. Having a judge, rather than an arbitrator, make the decision of whether to compel individual or class arbitration is meaningful because a judge’s ruling is subject to the regular appellate review process, while an arbitrator’s ruling is subject to only very limited judicial review.