Senators Urge California Court to Keep Roblox, Discord Child Sex Abuse Case Out of Arbitration

Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiffs’ law firm, today filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of three U.S. Senators — Richard Blumenthal, Richard Durbin, and Kirsten Gillibrand — urging the California Court of Appeal to reject an attempt by Discord, Inc. and Roblox Corp. to force a child sexual abuse survivor’s claim into private arbitration.

“Congress could not have been clearer that survivors of sexual assault should not be forced into secretive arbitration proceedings,” said Shareholder Paul Bland. “Roblox and Discord are asking this Court to rewrite the statute to shield themselves, not to protect survivors. We are proud to represent Senators Blumenthal, Durbin, and Gillibrand in explaining what the Congress actually intended, and thus in urging the Court of Appeal to reject that argument and let this case proceed in open court, where it belongs.”

Berger Montague filed the amicus curiae brief on August 28, 2026, on behalf of Senators Blumenthal, Durbin, and Gillibrand, three of the principal sponsors of the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA). The brief asks the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, to affirm a trial court ruling that denied Discord’s and Roblox’s motions to compel arbitration in a consolidated appeal, Cal. Ct. App., 1st Dist., Nos. A175211, A175220 & A175379.

The case arises from a lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of San Mateo County, in which a 13-year-old boy, proceeding as “John Doe” through his guardian ad litem, alleges he was contacted on Roblox by an adult predator posing as a teenager. The conversation moved to Discord, where the predator coerced the child into sharing explicit images. The lawsuit alleges Discord and Roblox failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect minors from known predators on their platforms. The Superior Court denied Discord’s and Roblox’s motions to compel arbitration, and the companies appealed.

On appeal, Discord and Roblox argue that the EFAA applies only to employment disputes, or to consumer cases where the person who committed the assault or harassment was a company employee — a reading that would exclude this case, and thousands like it, from the law’s protection. The Senators’ brief argues that Congress intended the EFAA to be read broadly to cover any case relating to a sexual assault or sexual harassment dispute, consumer claims included, and that survivors deserve their day in court rather than being forced into private arbitration. Roblox and Discord together face more than 150 similar lawsuits nationwide alleging failures to protect children from predators.

Read more here.

Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. With more than $2.4 billion in 2025 post-trial judgments alone, the Firm is a leader in the fields of complex litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For over 55 years, Berger Montague has played leading roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, DC, and Wilmington, DE.

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F. Paul Bland

Shareholder

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Matt Summers

Associate

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