Originally from:

Journal of American Arbitration (JAA) - Vol. 6, No. 1

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ARTICLES

Like a Skunk at a Lawn Party: The Bazzle
Decision Hits Corporate America
By Zack Zuroweste

I. INTRODUCTION
The Supreme Court recently gave plaintiffs a better chance of
forming antitrust class actions and obtaining large settlements from
businesses with its decision in Green Tree Financial Corp. v.
Bazzle.1 The Bazzle decision makes it easier for plaintiffs to form
class actions by granting arbitrators the power to permit class
arbitration, which were not permitted prior to this decision.2
Historically, businesses were able to defeat class actions by simply
compelling arbitration.3 However, in Bazzle, the Supreme Court
gave arbitrators the power to decide whether class arbitration is
appropriate under arbitration agreements that do not expressly
permit class arbitration.4 In effect, existing arbitration agreements