In his Outsourcing Justice blog, Professor Imre Szalai comments on a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Merkin v. Vonage America) in which the court found that the Federal Arbitration Act preempted an unconsionability defense since the defense was arbitration specific.

Professor Szalai notes that the decision is an example of how the recent US Supreme Court jurisprudence on class-arbitration (Concepcion and Italian Colors) has an impact beyond the class arbitration context.