5th Cir. Holds Propriety of Class Arbitration is 'Gateway' Issue for Courts

[Editor's note: Brendan Gooley of Carlton Fields is a litigator who focuses on employment discrimination, education, and insurance matters. He joined the firm after clerking for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Connecticut Supreme Court. Copyright 2019, Brendan Gooley.]

NEW ORLEANS - The Fifth Circuit has joined a number of other circuits and concluded that whether class arbitration is appropriate under the terms of a particular arbitration agreement is a “gateway” issue to be decided by courts, not an arbitrator, absent “clear and unmistakable” language to the contrary.

The court further concluded that there was …