The First Circuit today decided an issue that it would have punted if it had its druthers. It reached the question (instead of referring it to an arbitrator) because the parties asked it to. The court ruled that, under the peculiar circumstances of the case before it, a ban on class arbitration did amount to an unconscionable curtailment of the plaintiffs’ rights under Commonwealth of Massachusetts law. Skirchak v. Dynamics Research Corp., Nos. 06-2136 & 06-2180 (1st Cir. Nov. 19, 2007).
Barry Barnett
