High Court to Decide When a Contract Is Ambiguous on Question of Arbitration

On May 21, the Supreme Court handed down its highly anticipated decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis. The court, in a 5-4 decision, upheld arbitration agreements that waive employees’ rights to bring class arbitration against their employers. On April 30, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Lamps Plus v. Varela, taking up for review the question of “whether the Federal Arbitration Act forecloses a state-law interpretation of an arbitration agreement that would authorize class arbitration based solely on general language commonly used in arbitration agreements.” In this article, partner Holly Weiss discusses how these cases are likely to clarify under which circumstances class arbitration will remain an option for claimants.