Enforcing Arbitration Delegation In The Ninth Circuit

On December 5, 2023, the Ninth Circuit in Bielski, et al. v. Coinbase, Inc., No. 22-15566 (9th Cir. 2023) concluded that federal courts can look to the parties' agreement as a whole when determining whether the delegation provision of an arbitration agreement is enforceable and held that the at-issue delegation provision was not unconscionable.

Abraham Bielski filed a putative class action against Coinbase in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1693–1693r, and Regulation E, 12 C.F.R. §§ 1005.1–1005.20, alleging that Coinbase failed to investigate the unauthorized transfer of funds and replaced funds fraudulently taken from users' accounts. Coinbase moved to compel arbitration based on its user agreement, which contained an arbitration agreement with a delegation provision. The latter delegated to the arbitrator any dispute arising out of the agreement. Bielski argued that the