The Ninth Circuit Again Follows Concepcion And Enforces Consumer Arbitrations

On March 16, 2012, the Ninth Circuit followed the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in AT&T Mobility, Inc. v. Concepcion, 131 S. Ct. 1740 (2011), and held that the Federal Arbitration Act (the FAA) preempts state law refusing to enforce arbitration provisions with class action waivers. See Marygrace Coneff v. AT&T Corp., --- F.3d ----, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 5520 (9th Cir. Wash. Mar. 16, 2012). Coneff follows closely on the heels of the Ninth Circuit's recent opinion in Kilgore v. KeyBank, Nat'l Ass'n, --- F.3d ----, 2012 WL 718344, *10 (9th Cir. March 7, 2012), in which it followed Concepcion in holding the FAA preempts California law excluding claims for "public injunctions" from arbitration.