U.S. Supreme Court To Decide Another Major Class/Collective Action Arbitration Case

On December 7, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certification in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter, No. 12-135, 675 F.3d 215 (3rd Cir. 2012). In Oxford, the Third Circuit affirmed a decision that an arbitrator did not exceed his authority in holding that an arbitration agreement which is silent as to class actions still permits class arbitrations. The Oxford decision, as well as the Second Circuit's decision in Jock v. Sterling Jewelers Inc., 646 F.3d 113 (2d Cir. 2011), are at odds with the Fifth Circuit's decision in Reed v. Florida Metropolitan Univ., 681 F.3d 630 (5th Cir., 2012), which openly disagreed with the Second Circuit over the interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court's holding in Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., 130 S. Ct. 1758, 1776 (2010). The question presented as described by the Supreme Court is as follows: