Supreme Court Rules Class Arbitration Not Permitted When Agreement Is Silent

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-3 decision on April 27 reversed a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling and held that an arbitration panel exceeded its authority under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) by construing an arbitration clause to permit class arbitration of antitrust claims when the clause was silent on that issue (Stolt-Nielsen S.A., et al. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., No. 08-1198, U.S. Sup.; See 12/17/09, Page 18). Full story on lexis.com