Arbitration And Class Proceedings: Recent Case Law From Canada And The United States

AT&T MOBILITY V. CONCEPCION AND SEIDEL V. TELUS: CONTRASTING APPROACHES

Whether mandatory arbitration clauses that effectively or explicitly bar class proceedings are allowable in consumer contracts has been the subject of much judicial comment in both Canada and the United States. Following the release of two recent supreme court decisions, AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion et ux. from the United States Supreme Court, and Seidel v. TELUS Communications Inc., from the Supreme Court of Canada, mandatory arbitration clauses barring class proceedings remain allowable in both countries. That said, the case law in Canada makes it clear that mandatory arbitration clauses barring class proceedings will be inoperative where there are provincial statutory provisions prohibiting them – such as in the consumer protection legislation in Alberta, Ontario, and Québec.