Roblox Lawsuits: Arbitration or a Jury? What Parents Should Know Before the Jan. 13 Hearing

The judge overseeing the consolidated child-safety lawsuits against Roblox will hear arguments on Jan. 13, 2027, on whether the families must take their claims to private arbitration instead of a jury. Here is where the case stood on Nov. 3, 2026, based on the court record.

What the case is

The cases are consolidated as In re Roblox Corporation Child Sexual Exploitation and Assault Litigation, MDL No. 3166, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (No. 3:25-md-03166-RS), before Chief Judge Richard Seeborg. The plaintiffs allege that predators met and groomed children on Roblox and often moved the conversations to Discord. Both companies are defendants. These are allegations. No court has decided whether either company is liable.

The fight right now: arbitration

Under an Aug. 31 scheduling order, the court picked a small group of "arbitration bellwether" cases to test the issue first. On Sept. 22, Roblox filed an omnibus motion to compel arbitration, and Discord filed its own.

What Roblox argues. According to its motion, the plaintiffs or their parents agreed to Roblox's Terms of Use, which include a mandatory arbitration agreement. Roblox says that happened when they created accounts, bought Robux, redeemed gift cards and accepted updated terms. Roblox argues that a delegation clause sends disputes about whether a claim must be arbitrated to the arbitrator, not the judge. That includes questions about minors canceling the contract, which lawyers call disaffirmance. It says its web sign-up page has specifically noted the arbitration provision since about Aug. 2, 2020. It also argues that the federal law the families rely on does not apply to a platform that is not accused of committing the assault itself. In the motion, Roblox calls the conduct the plaintiffs describe "abhorrent" and says it "does not condone it."

What the families argue. In their Oct. 27 opposition, the plaintiffs describe seven young people, all but one still minors. They say arbitration would keep the companies' conduct from ever seeing "the light of day." They rely on the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA). That law lets survivors of sexual assault or harassment take their cases to court even if they signed an arbitration clause. They point out that Congress directed courts, not arbitrators, to decide whether the law applies (9 U.S.C. § 402(b)). They also say the minors have disaffirmed any agreements to arbitrate.

Key dates

• Nov. 9, 2026: joint case management statement due.
• Nov. 16, 2026, 10 a.m. PT: further case management conference by Zoom.
• Nov. 20, 2026: Roblox's and Discord's replies on arbitration due.
• Jan. 13, 2027, 9:30 a.m. PT: hearing on the motions to compel arbitration, Courtroom 12, 19th floor, San Francisco. A Sept. 23 clerk's notice moved it there from Jan. 12.

Other work is going on at the same time. On Oct. 28, Magistrate Judge Ajay Krishnan held a discovery hearing and told the sides to meet and confer and file an updated proposal. On Nov. 3, the court entered a consolidated order appointing guardians ad litem for minor plaintiffs.

What it means for families

The ruling will not decide whether Roblox or Discord did anything wrong. It decides where the bellwether claims are heard, in a public courtroom or in private arbitration. Because the lawsuits center on the Terms of Use that kids and parents click through, the outcome could matter to any family with a Roblox account. Separately, Roblox publishes a parental controls guide. It explains how a parent can link a parent account to a child's account or approve requests on the child's own device. This article describes court filings and is not legal advice. Families with questions about a specific case should talk to a lawyer.

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Sources:

• CourtListener: In re Roblox Corp. Child Sexual Exploitation and Assault Litigation, No. 3:25-md-03166-RS (docket, checked Nov. 3, 2026)
• U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal.: MDL 3166 case page
• Order setting arbitration briefing schedule (ECF 429, Aug. 31, 2026)
• Roblox omnibus motion to compel arbitration (ECF 452, Sept. 22, 2026)
• Plaintiffs' omnibus opposition (ECF 479, Oct. 27, 2026)
• 9 U.S.C. § 402 (EFAA), Legal Information Institute
• Roblox: Parental controls

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