Viking River Cruises Oral Argument Suggests That Iskanian's Days Are Numbered

On March 30, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, Case No. 20-1573. At issue was a rule announced by the California Supreme Court in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal. 4th 348 (2014), declaring that arbitration agreements purporting to waive the right to bring a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claim are unenforceable under California law. The petitioner in Viking River Cruises argued that the Iskanian rule is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Several U.S. Supreme Court precedents, including Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 138 S. Ct. 1612 (2018), have held that the FAA requires that agreements to arbitrate claims on an individual basis only be enforced according to their terms. These precedents have upheld arbitration agreements that purport to waive the right to bring class or collective actions, and have held that state law rules to the contrary, are preempted by the FAA. (To