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Pennymac Financial Services, Inc., et al. v. Erich Heidrich, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 18-16494 · judgment February 7, 2020

Certiorari denied · October 5, 2020

Pre-decision estimate: 10% cert probability (95% interval 7%–15%)

Before the decision, about 2.4× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a Ninth Circuit decision below, and a business petitioner.

Question presented

Whether the Federal Arbitration Act requires enforcement of an arbitration agreement as applied to Fair Labor Standards Act claims where the parties’ agreement requires individualized arbitration, and if so, whether 28 U.S.C. § 1738 requires a contrary result based on a state court decision finding an identical agreement unenforceable under a state law rule that is plainly invalid under the FAA and federal substantive law interpreting the FAA.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
James Allen Bowles
Hill Farrer & Burrill LLP

For respondent
Christopher D. Baker
Baker Dolinko & Schwartz, P.C.

Case

Subject area
Unions (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Order
Order list, October 5, 2020 · Certiorari denied

Proceedings

Oct 05 2020
Petition DENIED.
Jul 29 2020
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2020.
Jul 27 2020
Waiver of right of respondent Erich Heidrich, et al. to respond filed.
Jul 06 2020
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 10, 2020)