Plaintiffs Not Estopped from Challenging Arbitration, Federal Judge Reiterates

NEW YORK - A New York federal judge has refused to reconsider an earlier decision in which he denied a motion to compel arbitration of a class action lawsuit brought by two cell phone users against a collection agency on the basis that the relationship between the agency and the wireless carriers was not "sufficiently close" to estop the plaintiffs from challenging arbitration. Butto v. Collecto Inc., No. 10-2906 (E.D. N.Y.).

On Feb. 23, Judge Arthur D. Spatt of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York reiterated that because no corporate relationship existed between Collecto Inc. …