Concepcion and Preemption Under the Federal Arbitration Act

Authors

Ian D. Mitchell
Richard A. Bales

Symposium Subtitle

U.S. Arbitration Law in the Wake of AT&T v. Concepcion

Abstract

The Supreme Court held in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion that a California law declaring class arbitration waivers unconscionable was preempted because it stood as an "obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives" of the Federal Arbitration Act. The Court's Concepcion decision was necessarily based on implied preemption, because the FAA contains no express preemption clause and because there was no textual conflict between the FAA and the California law. Concepcion