A360 Stock Plan Dispute Won’t Be Arbitrated, 11th Cir. Rules

The Eleventh Circuit joined other circuits Monday in endorsing limits on arbitration in ERISA lawsuits in an appeal over a mortgage technology company’s employee stock ownership plan.

The dispute belongs in court, not arbitration, because the arbitration provision in A360 Inc.'s employee stock ownership plan blocks workers from “effectively vindicating” their statutory right to seek plan-wide relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held.

Multiple federal circuits have grappled with the effective vindication doctrine, which courts have used to invalidate arbitration provisions that force plaintiffs to give up rights ...