Supreme Court Declines To Hear Cox Appeal in Arbitration Dispute

The Supreme Court opted not to hear an appeal of a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that Cox Communications had waived its right to compel arbitration in a class-action antitrust suit on allegations the company tied its premium cable service to rental of a Cox set-top box. The three-judge panel in its June ruling agreed with a U.S. District Court decision that Cox's move to compel arbitration -- shortly before the trial was set to begin and after discovery and class certification -- was "overly late." The Supreme Court without comment Monday denied Cox's petition. Cox ultimately won in the set-top box litigation, with U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron of Oklahoma City in November overruling a $6.31 million jury verdict against it, saying the class-action complainants failed to prove that tying a Cox Premium Cable subscription to renting of a Cox set-top box meant sizable losses of sales by third-party set-top box distributors (see 1511130005).