Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/10pdf/09-893.pdf
Page Number: 5.0

2 

AT&T MOBILITY LLC v. CONCEPCION 

Opinion of the Court 

to Pet. for Cert 61a.2  The agreement authorized AT&T to
make unilateral amendments, which it did to the arbitra-
tion provision on several occasions.  The version at issue in 
this case reflects revisions made in December 2006, which 
the parties agree are controlling.

The  revised  agreement  provides  that  customers  may 
initiate dispute proceedings by completing a one-page No-
tice of Dispute form available on AT&T’s Web site.  AT&T 
may  then  offer  to  settle  the  claim;  if  it  does  not,  or  if 
the  dispute  is  not  resolved  within  30  days,  the  customer
may  invoke  arbitration  by  filing  a  separate  Demand  for 
Arbitration,  also  available  on  AT&T’s  Web  site.    In  the 
event  the  parties  proceed  to  arbitration,  the  agreement 
specifies  that  AT&T  must  pay  all  costs  for  nonfrivolous 
claims;  that  arbitration  must  take  place  in  the  county  in 
which the customer is billed; that, for claims of $10,000 or 
less,  the  customer  may  choose  whether  the  arbitration
proceeds in person, by telephone, or based only on submis-
sions; that either party may bring a claim in small claims 
court  in  lieu  of  arbitration;  and  that  the  arbitrator  may 
award  any  form  of  individual  relief,  including  injunctions
and presumably punitive damages.  The agreement, more-
over,  denies  AT&T  any  ability  to  seek  reimbursement  of 
its  attorney’s  fees,  and,  in  the  event  that  a  customer  re-
ceives  an  arbitration  award  greater  than  AT&T’s  last 
written  settlement  offer,  requires  AT&T  to  pay  a  $7,500
minimum recovery and twice the amount of the claimant’s
attorney’s fees.3 

The  Concepcions  purchased  AT&T  service,  which  was 
advertised  as  including  the  provision  of  free  phones;  they 

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2 That  provision  further  states  that  “the  arbitrator  may  not  consoli-
date  more  than  one  person’s  claims,  and  may  not  otherwise  preside
over any form of a representative or class proceeding.”  App. to Pet. for
Cert. 61a. 

3 The  guaranteed  minimum  recovery  was  increased  in  2009  to 

$10,000.  Brief for Petitioner 7.