Alan S. Kaplinsky, chair of Ballard Spahr's Consumer Financial Services Group, tells Law360 that the Supreme Court's decision in Stolt-Nielsen v. Animalfeeds International not only fuels the arguments of defending parties in pending class arbitration proceedings but also settles the dispute over whether explicit class action waivers are enforceable. In reversing an arbitration panel's ruling authorizing Animalfeeds to pursue class arbitration against Stolt-Nielsen and others, the Court "largely put to rest the question of whether class action waivers are valid or not valid," Mr. Kaplinsky says. The Court's decision upholds the validity of class action waivers, which Mr. Kaplinsky adds are included in most recent, well-drafted arbitration agreements.