Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela

Lamps Plus Inc. et al., v. Frank Varela
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 29, 2018
Decided April 24, 2019
Full case nameLamps Plus Inc. et al., Petitioners v. Frank Varela
Docket no.17-988
Citations587 U.S. (more)
139 S. Ct. 1407; 203 L. Ed. 2d 636
Case history
Prior559 U.S. 662
Holding
Class arbitration procedures could not be compelled based on ambiguous language in the arbitration agreement.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Neil Gorsuch · Brett Kavanaugh
Case opinions
MajorityRoberts, joined by Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh
ConcurrenceThomas
DissentGinsburg, joined by Breyer, Sotomayor
DissentBreyer
DissentSotomayor
DissentKagan, joined by Ginsburg, Breyer; Sotomayor (Part II)
Laws applied
Federal Arbitration Act

Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, 587 U.S. ___ (2019), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding the use of class arbitration proceedings. In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit’s decision and held that arbitration on a classwide basis could not be compelled based on the provision’s ambiguous language.[1] The Court relied on its previous decision in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int'l Corp. which held that class arbitration procedures could not be compelled without indication that the parties to the arbitration had agreed to these procedures.[2]

  1. ^ Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, No. 17-988, 587 U.S. ___, 139 S. Ct. 1407, 1415 (2019).
  2. ^ Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int'l Corp., 559 U.S. 662, 687 (2010).