In 2014, we blogged about a California state appellate court decision invalidating the arbitration clause in DIRECTV’s consumer contracts. We found that California decision to be noteworthy because it seemed to fly in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333, 352 (2011), which invalidated California’s ban on class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements on the basis that California law was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The Supreme Court thought so too, ruling last month in DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, No. 14-462 (December 14, 2015), that Concepcion dictates that the California Court of Appeal’s interpretation of the DIRECTV contract is barred by the FAA... Continue Reading