Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/12pdf/12-133_19m1.pdf
Page Number: 3.0

Cite as:  570 U. S. ____ (2013) 

1 

Opinion of the Court 

NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
preliminary  print  of  the  United  States  Reports.  Readers  are  requested  to
notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash-
ington,  D. C.  20543,  of  any  typographical  or  other  formal  errors,  in  order
that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 12–133 
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AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY, ET AL., PETITIONERS 
v. ITALIAN COLORS RESTAURANT ET AL. 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 

APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
 

[June 20, 2013] 

JUSTICE SCALIA delivered the opinion of the Court. 
We consider whether a contractual waiver of class arbi-
tration  is  enforceable  under  the  Federal  Arbitration  Act 
when  the  plaintiff ’s  cost  of  individually  arbitrating  a
federal statutory claim exceeds the potential recovery. 

I 
Respondents  are  merchants  who  accept  American  Ex-
press cards.  Their agreement with petitioners—American
Express and a wholly owned subsidiary—contains a clause
that  requires  all  disputes  between  the  parties  to  be  re-
solved  by  arbitration.    The  agreement  also  provides  that
“[t]here shall be no right or authority for any Claims to be 
arbitrated on a class action basis.”  In re American Express 
Merchants’ Litigation, 667 F. 3d 204, 209 (CA2 2012). 

Respondents  brought  a  class  action  against  petitioners
for  violations  of  the  federal  antitrust  laws.  According  to
respondents,  American  Express  used  its  monopoly  power 
in  the  market  for  charge  cards  to  force  merchants  to  ac-
cept  credit  cards  at  rates  approximately  30%  higher  than