R. Arbitration of Class Action Damages

• Library: South Carolina Damages (SCBar) (2009 Ed.)

R. Arbitration of Class Action Damages

In Bazzle v. Green Tree Financial Corp.,⁶² the Supreme Court of South Carolina held if an arbitration clause in a consumer contract provides for arbitration, but is silent on whether arbitration may proceed in the context of a representative action, then arbitration may be ordered on a class-wide basis. However, the United States Supreme Court vacated and remanded the case, noting that this was an issue for the arbitrator to decide. Specifically, the court employed the following rationale for the ruling:

We are faced at the outset with a problem concerning the contracts' silence. Are the contracts in fact silent, or do they forbid class arbitration as petitioner Green Tree Financial Corp. contends? Given the South Carolina Supreme Court's holding, it is important to resolve that question. But we cannot do so, not simply because it is a matter of state law, but also because it is a matter for the arbitrator to

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