Kinecta v. Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles

In this case, a California trial court issued an order permitting an arbitration to proceed on a classwide basis. The defendants sought review in the California Court of Appeal, arguing that the arbitration clause was “silent” on whether class proceedings were allowed, and thus a class arbitration was impermissible under the Supreme Court’s decision in Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds International. Public Citizen submitted an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the plaintiff, arguing that the contract’s references to procedures available under California arbitration law contemplated the availability of class actions. Without addressing our arguments, the panel held that class proceedings were not permissible.