Opinion ID: 794138
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Howsam's Clear Questions of Arbitrability

Text: 67 We conclude that none of Plaintiffs' claims falls into either of the two categories of clear questions of arbitrability detailed in Howsam. Plaintiffs describe their position generally as follows: the Policies & Practices as a whole is valid. However, as applied to our antitrust claims, the arbitration agreement contained therein prevents us from obtaining statutorily guaranteed relief; therefore, the arbitration clause is invalid as applied to our antitrust claims. 68 The two types of clear questions of arbitrability described by the Court in Howsam are: (1) disputes about whether the parties are bound by a given arbitration clause; and (2) disputes about whether an arbitration clause in a concededly binding contract applies to a particular type of controversy. See Howsam, 537 U.S. at 84, 123 S.Ct. 588. While earlier we categorized Plaintiffs' non-retroactivity claim as an argument about the scope of the arbitration agreements, their vindication of statutory rights claims do not fit into either of Howsam's categories. The examples provided by the Howsam court bear this out. Id. at 84, 123 S.Ct. 588. The former category concerns whether there is a binding arbitration agreement at all, e.g., are non-signatories of an arbitration agreement bound by it? Here, there is no question that the Policies & Practices, which includes the arbitration provisions, establishes a valid contractual relationship between Comcast and each of its subscribers. 10 Plaintiffs do not challenge generally the validity of the Policies & Practices, the requirement to arbitrate, or the five particular rules governing arbitration here. Rather, Plaintiffs rely on the specific circumstances of their case, i.e., their antitrust claims, in challenging Comcast's demand for arbitration. 69 The second Howsam category also does not describe Plaintiffs' claims. That category involves disputes over whether a particular type of controversy is covered by a concededly valid arbitration agreement. Here, Plaintiffs do not assert that the arbitration provisions of the Policies & Practices do not apply to antitrust claims. Rather, Plaintiffs assert that arbitration subject to the provisions at issue shields Comcast from antitrust liability, and hence conflicts with the statutes providing for such liability. 70 In short, Howsam's two categories of clear questions of arbitrability do not tell us whether Plaintiffs have raised questions of arbitrability. Still, even without the benefit of a dispositive Supreme Court precedent, there are useful guides in the precedents we have discussed and in others.