December 19, 2024
What is the best way for more than 100 casinos that signed similar arbitration contracts to litigate their antitrust claims against a company that sells automated card-shuffling machines?
Is it for each of the casinos to arbitrate individually against the company, Light & Wonder (LNW.O), in more than 100 separate proceedings before an array of arbitrators who might well reach contradictory conclusions about legal and evidentiary issues?
Or is it for all of the more than 100 casinos to move forward as a class in a single arbitration before one arbitrator who will decide the fate of their theory that Light & Wonder engaged in sham patent litigation to monopolize the market for its machines?
The obvious answer, according to American Arbitration Association arbitrator John Wilkinson, is for the casinos to proceed as a class. In a Dec. 9 ruling made public on Tuesday, Wilkinson certified the casinos as an arbitration class, rejecting Light & Wonder’s arguments that their individual arbitration contracts are too dissimilar to allow the class to be certified.
“This landmark decision certifies what we believe to be the first-ever arbitration antitrust class, said Michael Eisenkraft, counsel for Mohawk Gaming Enterprises — a result that illustrates the ability of arbitrations to handle the most complex matters. This thorough ruling also denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. We look forward to advancing this case through the arbitration process.”
Read Casinos Get Green Light for Landmark Antitrust Arbitration Class.