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Neal Bissonnette, et al. v. LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, No. 20-1681 · judgment September 26, 2022


Decided · April 12, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 5% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Second Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and down for a business respondent.

Question presented

The Federal Arbitration Act exempts the "contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce." 9 U.S.C. § 1. The First and Seventh Circuits have held that this exemption applies to any member of a class of workers that is engaged in foreign or interstate commerce in the same way as seamen and railroad employees-that is, any worker "actively engaged" in the interstate transportation of goods. The Second and Eleventh Circuits have added an additional requirement: The worker's employer must also be in the "transportation industry." The question presented is: To be exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act, must a class of workers that is actively engaged in interstate transportation also be employed by a company in the transportation industry?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jennifer Dale Bennett
Gupta Wessler LLP

For respondent
Traci L. Lovitt
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
14 merits
(6 supporting pet./neither, 8 respondent)

Argument & decision

Argued February 20, 2024 — Jennifer D. Bennett · Traci L. Lovitt. Audio and transcript

Decided April 12, 2024. Opinion by Roberts, C.J..

Proceedings

  1. May 14 2024
    Judgment Issued.
  2. Apr 12 2024
    Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED. Roberts, C. J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.
  3. Feb 20 2024
    Argued. For petitioners: Jennifer D. Bennett, San Francisco, Cal. For respondents: Traci L. Lovitt, New York, N. Y.
  4. Jan 18 2024
    Record received from the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. The record is electronic and is available on PACER.
  5. Jan 12 2024
    Reply of petitioners Neal Bissonnette, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  6. Jan 11 2024
    CIRCULATED.
  7. Jan 09 2024
    Record received electronically from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and available with the Clerk.
  8. Jan 05 2024
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.
  9. Jan 05 2024
    Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
  10. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed.
  11. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Independent Bakers Association filed.
  12. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Professors Samuel Estreicher, et al. filed.
  13. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of The California Employment Law Council filed.
  14. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Amazon.com, Inc. filed.
  15. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amici curiae of DRI Center for Law and Public Policy, et al. filed.
  16. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Restaurant Law Center filed.
  17. Dec 18 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Washington Legal Foundation filed.
  18. Dec 13 2023
    Brief of respondents LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC, et al. filed.
  19. Nov 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed.
  20. Nov 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Public Justice filed.
  21. Nov 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of National Academy of Arbitrators filed.
  22. Nov 20 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Illinois, et al. filed.
  23. Nov 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of American Association for Justice filed.
  24. Nov 15 2023
    Brief amici curiae of National Employment Law Project, et al. filed.
  25. Nov 13 2023
    Brief of petitioners Neal Bissonnette, et al. filed.
  26. Nov 13 2023
    Joint appendix filed. (Statement of cost received.)
  27. Sep 29 2023
    Petition GRANTED.
  28. Sep 06 2023
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/26/2023.
  29. Sep 05 2023
    Reply of petitioners Neal Bissonnette, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  30. Aug 21 2023
    Brief of respondents LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC, et al. in opposition filed.
  31. Jul 17 2023
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 21, 2023)
  32. Jun 08 2023
    Application (22A984) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until July 17, 2023.
  33. Jun 02 2023
    Application (22A984) to extend further the time from June 15, 2023 to July 15, 2023, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.
  34. May 11 2023
    Application (22A984) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until June 15, 2023.
  35. May 09 2023
    Application (22A984) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from May 16, 2023 to June 15, 2023, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.