The Supreme Court's recent 5-3 decision in Stolt-Nielsen SA et al v. Animalfeeds International Corp. will have a profound – and beneficial – effect on banks with class action waivers in their arbitration contracts. Alan S. Kaplinsky, chair of Ballard Spahr's Consumer Financial Services Group and the recognized pioneer of pre-dispute arbitration clauses, tells American Banker "this opinion settles a highly controversial issue that has been percolating in the courts now for a decade." The Court determined that Stolt-Nielsen's individual arbitration agreements with commercial customers do not oblige the shipping company to face a class arbitration with a group of those customers. "I think the Supreme Court went further than everybody thought they would," Mr. Kaplinsky says. "If you've got a clause waiving class actions, then I think you're good to go."