U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Favour of Stolt-Nielsen S.A. in Rejecting Class Arbitration

Stolt-Nielsen S.A. (Oslo Børs: SNI) announced that the Supreme Court of the United States today ruled in the Company's favour, rejecting class arbitration of certain antitrust claims brought by a purported class led by AnimalFeeds International Corporation, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to Stolt Nielsen.

The Court's majority opinion said an arbitration panel's earlier decision that had permitted class arbitration was in conflict with the principle that arbitration is a matter of consent.

Following an adverse ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Company appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court and was granted a hearing in December 2009. Today's favourable ruling means that AnimalFeeds may bring antitrust claims against Stolt-Nielsen S.A. only on behalf of itself and not on behalf of a large, putative class of claimants.

Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer of Stolt-Nielsen S.A., commented: "We are very pleased with today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting class arbitration treatment."