Silence can be telling.

That is especially so in the legal industry.

In the context of a hearing or oral argument, if judges or justices don’t ask an attorney a question, it can be incredibly encouraging – or incredibly discouraging. It often means that the judges or justices have already made up their minds after having read the parties’ briefs and simply don’t have any questions or don’t need to hear anything more.

The meaning of silence (or relative silence) is something to be considered in light of the March 30, 2022 United States Supreme Court oral argument in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana.

Viking River Cruises addresses an issue that will have far-reaching impact upon employers with operations in California – whether claims under the California Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) are subject to the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) such that an arbitration agreement with a class and representative action waiver would be effective to halt the massive PAGA representative actions filed with regularity against California employers, just as those agreements can halt class actions post-Epic Systems v. Lewis.

Given the current composition of the United States Supreme Court, many pundits predicted a 6-3 decision holding that the FAA in fact extends to PAGA claims.

Following the oral argument, during which Viking River Cruise’s counsel was occasionally peppered by questions about PAGA, some commentators now seem to believe that the Court may instead conclude that PAGA...

Read Full Story: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/did-supreme-court-oral-argument-viking-r...