Valerie Sanders of Eversheds Sutherland has authored this article, available in Lexology, discussing the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Payne v. Savannah College of Art & Design.
As discussed in the article, the court rejected a claim of discrimination and retaliation by a college’s terminated fishing coach that it would be unconscionable to require him to arbitrate his claims where the contract included a an arbitrator fee-shifting provision, even though the school was required to advance the fees subject to potential reimbursement if it prevailed.
The claimant also unsuccessfully argued that the arbitration provision’s requirement that “required selection of a federal judge if one were available, and a person with five years’ experience in the relevant area of law, was unconscionable,” in that it “effectively limited the pool of arbitrators to two white men.”
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