AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion
AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333 (2011), is a legal dispute that was decided by the United States Supreme Court. On April 27, 2011, the Court ruled, by a 5–4 margin, that the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925 preempts state laws that prohibit contracts from disallowing class-wide arbitration, such as the law previously upheld by the California Supreme Court in the case of Discover Bank v. Superior Court. As a result, businesses that include arbitration agreements with class action waivers can require consumers to bring claims only in individual arbitrations, rather than in court as part of a class action.: 708–09
| AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion | |
|---|---|
Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Argued November 9, 2010 Decided April 27, 2011 | |
| Full case name | AT&T Mobility LLC v. Vincent Concepcion, et ux. |
| Docket no. | 09-893 |
| Citations | 563 U.S. 333 (more) 131 S. Ct. 1740; 179 L. Ed. 2d 742 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Motion to compel arbitration denied sub nom., Laster v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., No. 3:05-cv-01167, 2008 WL 5216255 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 11, 2008); affirmed sub nom., Laster v. AT&T Mobility LLC, 584 F.3d 849 (9th Cir. 2009); cert. granted, 560 U.S. 923 (2010). |
| Subsequent | Remanded, Laster v. AT & T Mobility LLC, 663 F.3d 1034 (9th Cir. 2011); motion to compel arbitration granted, Laster v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., No. 3:05-cv-01167, 2012 WL 1681762 (S.D. Cal. May 9, 2012). |
| Holding | |
| The Discover Bank test adopted by California to invalidate certain arbitration agreements with class action waivers is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Scalia, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito |
| Concurrence | Thomas |
| Dissent | Breyer, joined by Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan |
| Laws applied | |
| Federal Arbitration Act | |
The decision was described by Jean Sternlight as a "tsunami that is wiping out existing and potential consumer and employment class actions": 704 and by law professor Myriam Gilles as "the real game-changer for class action litigation". By April 2012, Concepcion was cited in at least 76 decisions sending putative class actions to individual arbitration. After the decision, several major businesses introduced or changed arbitration terms in their consumer contracts (some of which were based on the consumer-friendly terms found in the AT&T Mobility agreement), although the hypothesis of massive adoption of consumer arbitration clauses following the decision has been disputed.