In the wake of a Third Circuit ruling as to whether the court or the arbitrator determines if a case is suitable for class arbitration, two district judges in the Middle District of Pennsylvania split on how to apply the ruling to separate putative class cases involving the same energy company.
Chesapeake Appalachia sought declaratory judgment in two cases—one against proposed class representatives Russell and Gayle Burkett and another against proposed lead plaintiff Scout Petroleum—that the court and not an arbitration panel can determine whether the underlying cases can proceed as class arbitrations under the parties’ oil and gas lease agreements. Within a day of one another, Chesapeake received two different rulings, both interpreting a July opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Opalinski v. Robert Half International.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
