The U.S. Supreme Court announced this morning that it has ruled in DirecTV’s favor in a 2008 arbitration case centered on cancellation fees.
The high court, in a 6-3 vote, ruled that DirecTV can mandate that customer disputes need to be handled via arbitration. This overturns a lower court ruling that found that consumers were not bound by a provision in DirecTV’s customer agreement preventing disputes from being resolved on a class-wide basis.
The litigation dates back to 2008 when DirecTV customers Amy Imburgia and Kathy Grenier filed class action lawsuits asserting that the company had violated state law by imposing cancellation fees.
Justice Stephen Breyer, writing on behalf of the majority, said federal arbitration law trumped state law that stated arbitration could not be required. The dissenters were Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.
Filed Under: Industry regulations + certifications