Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons^™

The Case Against Maritime Class Arbitration: A Brief Policy Argument, Landon R. Schwob

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

On April 27, 2010, the United States Supreme Court decided a case that will have far-reaching implications for virtually all sectors within the arbitration industry, including the subject of this article-maritime arbitration. The question presented in Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds International Corp. dealt with class arbitration and whether its imposition on parties whose arbitration clauses are silent on that issue is consistent with the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). This article will primarily examine the history and viability of class arbitration-and arbitration in general-in the far more narrow context of maritime and the admiralty. Stolt-Nielsen provides an excellent backdrop against which to …