appellate court
Appellate Court Reverses Decision that Standard Construction Form Requiring Mediation Is Contract of Adhesion
May 20, 2014
A California court of appeals overturned the trial court’s decision that a standardized home purchase contract which required homeowners to give notice and an opportunity to correct any construction defects, and then to mediate prior to filing litigation against the builder, was an unconscionable contract of adhesion and violated California’s 2002 Right to Repair Act. The appellate court found that there was nothing unfairly one-sided about the mediation terms, as required for a contract to be unconscionable. McCaffrey...
May 20, 2014
A California court of appeals overturned the trial court’s decision that a standardized home purchase contract which required homeowners to give notice and an opportunity to correct any construction defects, and then to mediate prior to filing litigation against the builder, was an unconscionable contract of adhesion and violated California’s 2002 Right to Repair Act. The appellate court found that there was nothing unfairly one-sided about the mediation terms, as required for a contract to be unconscionable. McCaffrey...
Attorney Disciplined Over Tweets
February 1, 2014
It was a job lost in 140 characters. Attorney Sarah Peterson Herr was a researcher at an appellate court in Kansas. According to her own disciplinary hearing, she watched a high-profile trial on a computer in her office and Tweeted her observations, speculations and reactions. Tweets included lofty observations, such as “Holy balls, there are literally 15 cops here for the Phil Kline case today” and “you don’t think a sealed document is meant to be confidential. BURN.” She also estimated...
February 1, 2014
It was a job lost in 140 characters. Attorney Sarah Peterson Herr was a researcher at an appellate court in Kansas. According to her own disciplinary hearing, she watched a high-profile trial on a computer in her office and Tweeted her observations, speculations and reactions. Tweets included lofty observations, such as “Holy balls, there are literally 15 cops here for the Phil Kline case today” and “you don’t think a sealed document is meant to be confidential. BURN.” She also estimated...
Mediator Improperly Testified About Oral Settlement in Kansas Mediation, Absent Statutory Exception
January 20, 2014
A Kansas appellate court concluded that the trial court erred in permitting a mediator to testify that an oral agreement had been reached in mediation and what the terms of the purported agreement were. The appellate court noted that several states, including Louisiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Connecticut, Iowa and Wyoming, have express exceptions allowing mediators to testify about disputed agreements, but that Kansas does not have such an exception. Thus, the general rule of mediation confidentiality...
January 20, 2014
A Kansas appellate court concluded that the trial court erred in permitting a mediator to testify that an oral agreement had been reached in mediation and what the terms of the purported agreement were. The appellate court noted that several states, including Louisiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Connecticut, Iowa and Wyoming, have express exceptions allowing mediators to testify about disputed agreements, but that Kansas does not have such an exception. Thus, the general rule of mediation confidentiality...
Declaratory Action Not Appropriate to Challenge Interlocutory Arbitration Orders
April 10, 2013
In an arbitration related to an uninsured motorist insurance claim, the insured twice challenged the arbitrators’ discovery rulings by filing declaratory relief actions in state court. The first time, the appellate court affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of the action for failure to first challenge the subject order with the arbitrators. The second time, after the appellant unsuccessfully challenged the orders with the arbitrators, the lower court dismissed the suit for lack of subject matter...
April 10, 2013
In an arbitration related to an uninsured motorist insurance claim, the insured twice challenged the arbitrators’ discovery rulings by filing declaratory relief actions in state court. The first time, the appellate court affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of the action for failure to first challenge the subject order with the arbitrators. The second time, after the appellant unsuccessfully challenged the orders with the arbitrators, the lower court dismissed the suit for lack of subject matter...
