main image

Update: Certiorari Granted in the Stolt-Nielsen Case!

June 15th, 2009 Arbitrability, Authority of Arbitrators, Class Action Arbitration, Consolidation of Arbitration Proceedings, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United States Supreme Court 10 Comments » By Philip J. Loree Jr.

On May 29, 2009 we discussed Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp., 548 F.3d 85 (2d Cir. 2009), which held that “manifest disregard of the law” is not an independent basis for vacating an arbitration award foreclosed by Hall Street, but one encompassed within Section 10(a)(4)’s prohibition against arbitrators “exceed[ing] their powers.  .  .  .”  This morning the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Stolt-Nielsen to decide whether imposing class arbitration on parties whose arbitration clauses are silent on that issue is consistent with the Federal Arbitration Act.  The Second Circuit found that the arbitrators did not exceed their powers when they ordered a class action arbitration, even though the contract was concededly silent on whether class arbitrations were permitted.  

We shall post in the not too distant future an analysis of the issue the United States Supreme Court will decide, as its resolution potentially has important implications on the powers of arbitrators to consolidate arbitrations or order class-action arbitration proceedings.  

Stay tuned.  .  .  .

Tags: , , , , , ,

10 Responses to “Update: Certiorari Granted in the Stolt-Nielsen Case!”

  1. S.I. Strong says:

    Those who are interested in the issues raised by Stolt-Nielsen may wish to take a look at “The Sounds of Silence: Are U.S. Arbitrators Creating Internationally Enforceable Awards When Ordering Class Arbitration in Cases of Contractual Silence or Ambiguity?” which will be published in July 2009 in volume 30 of the Michigan Journal of International Law.

  2. Philip J. Loree Jr. says:

    S.I. Strong:

    Thanks for your helpful comment. The article sounds very interesting, and it certainly raises an important point.

    Best regards,

    Phil Loree Jr.

  3. […] Categories Back to Loree & Loree Website LoreeLawFirm.com « Update: Certiorari Granted in the Stolt-Nielsen Case! […]

  4. […] hint of where it stands on this issue when it decides the Stolt-Nielsen case (blogged here and here), which raises the related issue whether imposing class action arbitration is consistent with the […]

  5. […] may be imposed on parties whose contracts are silent on that point.  (Posts available here,  here, here, here, here, here, here, here and […]

  6. […] may be imposed on parties whose contracts are silent on that point.  (Posts available here,  here, here, here, here, here, here, […]

  7. […] on it, including a series of guest-post articles for the Disputing blog.  (Posts available here,  here, here, here, here, here, here, […]

  8. […] of guest-post articles for our friend Karl Bayer’s  Disputing blog.  (Posts available here,  here, here, here, here, here, here, […]

  9. […] Update: Certiorari Granted in the Stolt-Nielsen Case! (Loree Reinsurance and Arbitration Law Forum) […]