American Express Company, et al., Petitioners v. Italian Colors Restaurant, et al. (570 U.S. 228)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 20, 2013 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 570 U.S. 228 · 133 S. Ct. 2304
- Decided
- June 20, 2013
- Term
- October Term 2012
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority author
- Justice Scalia
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice SCALIA delivered the opinion of the Court. We consider whether a contractual waiver of class arbitration is enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act when the plaintiff's cost of individually arbitrating a federal statutory claim exceeds the potential recovery. I Respondents are merchants who accept American Express cards. Their agreement with petitioners-American Express and a wholly owned subsidiary-contains a clause that requires all disputes between the parties to be resolved by arbitration. The agreement also provides that "[t]here shall be no right or authority for any Claims to be arbitrated on a class action basis." In re American Express Merchants' Litigation, 667 F.3d 204, 209 (C.A.2 2012). Respondents brought a class action against petitioners for violations of the federal antitrust laws. According to respondents, American Express used its monopoly power in the market for charge cards to force merchants to accept credit cards at rates approximately 30% higher than the fees for competing credit cards. This tying arrangement, respondents said, violated § 1 of the Sherman Act. They sought treble damages for the class under § 4 of the Clayton Act. Petitioners moved to compel individual arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. In resisting the motion, respondents submitted a declaration from an economist who estimated that…
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