Originally from:

Journal of American Arbitration (JAA) - Vol. 3, No. 2

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ARTICLES

In a Class by Themselves: An Illinois
Appellate Court Finds that Arbitrators must
Decide the Issue of Class Action Arbitration
in Bess v. DirecTV, Inc.
By Ryan Kabacinski
 

I. OVERVIEW
The dispute developed from a class action against DirecTV, Inc.
(DirecTV) for allegedly charging excessive late fees to subscribers.1
DirecTV, Inc., a California-based corporation, markets digital satellite
television services to customers nationwide.2 DirecTV-compatible
satellite receivers and reception equipment are sold by a network of
third-party independent retailers and installed by separate third-party
sub-contractors.3 Retailers promote DirecTV’s services to customers
who then contract with DirecTV to receive digital satellite television
programming.4 Charlotte Bess subscribed to DirecTV for satellite
television programming and, once Bess activated her satellite service,
DirecTV sent her a copy of the October 1999 Customer Agreement
(Agreement) as well as her first monthly billing statement.5 The
Agreement enumerated the terms and conditions relating to payment for