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Sign On the Dotted Line!
June 20, 2014
“One of the main purposes of mediation is the expeditious resolution of disputes. Mediation will not always be successful, but it should not spawn more litigation . . . .” So said the New Jersey Supreme Court in the case of Willingboro Mall LTD v. 240/242 Franklin Avenue, LLC, 35 A.3d 680 (2012),as it considered a mediation which itself became the controversy. Five depositions, a four-day evidentiary hearing, and two appeals later, the high court set forth a new rule in New Jersey requiring...
June 20, 2014
“One of the main purposes of mediation is the expeditious resolution of disputes. Mediation will not always be successful, but it should not spawn more litigation . . . .” So said the New Jersey Supreme Court in the case of Willingboro Mall LTD v. 240/242 Franklin Avenue, LLC, 35 A.3d 680 (2012),as it considered a mediation which itself became the controversy. Five depositions, a four-day evidentiary hearing, and two appeals later, the high court set forth a new rule in New Jersey requiring...
Court Vacates $125M Award Due To Arbitrator’s Misleading Disclosures
June 9, 2014
Today we take a close look at that rare creature: an opinion finding sufficient basis under the FAA to vacate an arbitration award. In Tenaska Energy Inc. v. Ponderosa Pine Energy, LLC, __S.W.3d __, 2014 WL 2139215 (Tex. May 23, 2014), the Supreme Court of Texas found an arbitrator had shown “evident partiality” due to his misleading “partial” disclosures of his contacts with the law firm representing the claimant. * * * Legally, I find it interesting that even though the Texas Supreme...
June 9, 2014
Today we take a close look at that rare creature: an opinion finding sufficient basis under the FAA to vacate an arbitration award. In Tenaska Energy Inc. v. Ponderosa Pine Energy, LLC, __S.W.3d __, 2014 WL 2139215 (Tex. May 23, 2014), the Supreme Court of Texas found an arbitrator had shown “evident partiality” due to his misleading “partial” disclosures of his contacts with the law firm representing the claimant. * * * Legally, I find it interesting that even though the Texas Supreme...
Dodd-Frank Only Precludes Arbitration of Whistleblower Actions
May 19, 2014
The Fourth Circuit found this week that the Dodd-Frank Act did not override all arbitration agreements between publicly-traded employers and their employees. Santoro v. Accenture Federal Servs., LLC, 2014 WL 1759072 (4th Cir. May 5, 2014). Instead, “where the plaintiff is not pursuing Dodd-Frank whistleblower claims, neither [section of the Dodd-Frank Act] overrides the FAA’s mandate that arbitration agreements are enforceable.” This case involved the termination of a 66-year-old Accenture...
May 19, 2014
The Fourth Circuit found this week that the Dodd-Frank Act did not override all arbitration agreements between publicly-traded employers and their employees. Santoro v. Accenture Federal Servs., LLC, 2014 WL 1759072 (4th Cir. May 5, 2014). Instead, “where the plaintiff is not pursuing Dodd-Frank whistleblower claims, neither [section of the Dodd-Frank Act] overrides the FAA’s mandate that arbitration agreements are enforceable.” This case involved the termination of a 66-year-old Accenture...
Patent Litigation Best Practices
January 28, 2014
This webinar is being developed in conjunction with an introductory chapter for a Patent Litigation Best Practices document. This document has the potential to impact judicial decisionmaking at the trial and appellate levels (Judge Taranto referencedThe Sedona Conference Glossary: E-Discovery & Digital Information Management(3rd ed. 2010) numerous times in the CBT Flint Partners, LLC v. Return Path, Inc.opinion), and the panel will take questions by text and telephone during the program. *...
January 28, 2014
This webinar is being developed in conjunction with an introductory chapter for a Patent Litigation Best Practices document. This document has the potential to impact judicial decisionmaking at the trial and appellate levels (Judge Taranto referencedThe Sedona Conference Glossary: E-Discovery & Digital Information Management(3rd ed. 2010) numerous times in the CBT Flint Partners, LLC v. Return Path, Inc.opinion), and the panel will take questions by text and telephone during the program. *...
In Practice: Harsh Class Arbitration Waivers Still Unconscionable
November 18, 2013
Since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts California's rule that invalidates arbitration agreements in which the parties waive the right to class-wide proceedings, courts in California have wrestled with applying Concepcion in the employment context, with confusing and often conflicting results for employers. It's not too surprising, then, that the California Supreme Court granted review last...
November 18, 2013
Since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts California's rule that invalidates arbitration agreements in which the parties waive the right to class-wide proceedings, courts in California have wrestled with applying Concepcion in the employment context, with confusing and often conflicting results for employers. It's not too surprising, then, that the California Supreme Court granted review last...
Round-Up Of Federal Decisions Involving Questions of Arbitrability
September 25, 2013
Mortensen v. Bresnan Communications, LLC, No. 11-35823 (9th Cir. July 15, 2013) (vacating district court order declining...
September 25, 2013
Mortensen v. Bresnan Communications, LLC, No. 11-35823 (9th Cir. July 15, 2013) (vacating district court order declining...
Dallas COA Holds Arbitral Record Sufficient to Support Summary Judgment in Insurance Dispute
September 25, 2013
The Dallas Court of Appeals has granted partial summary judgment in an insurance dispute that arose following arbitration. ...
September 25, 2013
The Dallas Court of Appeals has granted partial summary judgment in an insurance dispute that arose following arbitration. ...
Understanding the Scope of the Duty to Preserve
August 13, 2013
The important litigation hold cases are not the ones that issue monstrous sanction awards; The important cases are the ones that demonstrate the analytical framework to understand how the law works. These are the opinions that help us represent our clients in knowing what to do when litigation is reasonably anticipated. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal’s opinion in AMC Tech., LLC v. Cisco Sys., is such a case that breaks down the duty to preserve, triggering events and the timeline of facts. I think...
August 13, 2013
The important litigation hold cases are not the ones that issue monstrous sanction awards; The important cases are the ones that demonstrate the analytical framework to understand how the law works. These are the opinions that help us represent our clients in knowing what to do when litigation is reasonably anticipated. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal’s opinion in AMC Tech., LLC v. Cisco Sys., is such a case that breaks down the duty to preserve, triggering events and the timeline of facts. I think...
Today: Argument in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter
March 25, 2013
Issue: Whether an arbitrator acts within his powers under the Federal Arbitration Act (as the Second and Third Circuits have held) or exceeds those powers (as the Fifth Circuit has held) by determining that parties affirmatively “agreed to authorize class arbitration,” Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. Animalfeeds Int'l Corp., based solely on their use of broad contractual language precluding litigation and requiring arbitration of any dispute arising under their contract. Cornell Summary: Over a decade...
March 25, 2013
Issue: Whether an arbitrator acts within his powers under the Federal Arbitration Act (as the Second and Third Circuits have held) or exceeds those powers (as the Fifth Circuit has held) by determining that parties affirmatively “agreed to authorize class arbitration,” Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. Animalfeeds Int'l Corp., based solely on their use of broad contractual language precluding litigation and requiring arbitration of any dispute arising under their contract. Cornell Summary: Over a decade...
