Supreme Court Decision Supports Small Businesses Right to Arbitration

June 23, 2023

Supreme Court Decision Supports Small Businesses Right to Arbitration

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 23, 2023) – Small businesses are assured by today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Coinbase Inc. v. Abraham Bielski, as the Court upheld the right of small business owners to avoid the burdens of costly litigation in cases that belong in arbitration. NFIB joined an amicus brief in the case. “The financial burden of a lawsuit can be devastating to a small business, many of whom do not have attorneys on staff, nor the time or resources to commit to a trial,” said Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “This is why arbitration is so important. The Supreme Court’s ruling today will protect small businesses from costly litigation when the case will be better resolved outside of a courtroom.” The case concerned arbitration cases under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), which establishes that parties to a contractual arbitration agreement do not sacrifice that right while they appeal a district court’s refusal to compel arbitration The coalition amicus brief that NFIB joined argued that the question of arbitrability must be settled before the right to arbitrate is destroyed through ongoing trial proceedings. This decision upholds the FAA halting legal proceedings until the question of arbitrability is resolved, protecting small business owners from the burdens of litigation. The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Topics:

Legal

Get to know NFIB

NFIB is a member-driven organization advocating on behalf of small and independent businesses nationwide.

Learn More