VERMONT SUPREME COURT SENDS BANK BACK INTO CLASS ARBITRATION
The Vermont Supreme Court reversed a trial court order that had the effect of precluding class arbitration where the parties’ agreement was silent on the issue. The trial court based its ruling on the then-recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Stolt-Nielsen SA v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp. However, on appeal, the Vermont Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court’s involvement was premature, as it was not based on a timely vacatur or confirmation action, as required to invoke a court’s jurisdiction under the Vermont Arbitration Act. The defendant bank failed to timely challenge the arbitrator’s pre-Stolt-Nielsen decision allowing class arbitration, and failed to re-raise the issue of arbitrability with the arbitrator in light of Stolt-Nielsen. Bandler and Bandler & Co. v. Charter One Bank, No. 2011-249 (VT Oct. 5, 2012).
This post written by John Pitblado.
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