The gender discrimination class action lawsuit against Riot Games is still rumbling on, and it seems Riot is once again attempting to settle the dispute outside of court – as the company is now seeking individual arbitration.
The motion for individual arbitration, if approved by the court, would compel the plaintiffs to resolve the suit before a private judge. This would likely take the case out of public view, and force the women involved to battle the company individually.
Riot initially attempted to enforce mandatory individual arbitration back in 2019, arguing that some of the plaintiffs involved had waived their right to sue due to a clause in their employment contracts. The company faced huge backlash for doing so: over 150 employees walked out to protest the forced arbitration system. Riot eventually promised an end to mandatory arbitration for new employees, and made a class action settlement offer of $10m (£7.28m). This, in turn, was rejected in February last year after a fresh legal team was brought in to represent the class action plaintiffs, with Riot having to deny allegations it colluded with the plaintiffs' counsel to reach the preliminary settlement (via GamesIndustry.biz). One state agency claimed the women could actually be entitled to over $400m (£291.7m).
