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...

Third Circuit Finds Two Months of Litigation Sufficient to Waive Right to Arbitrate
May 16, 2014

In a decision this week, the Third Circuit found two related parties had waived their right to arbitrate claims.  One was no suprise...

A Motion to Compel Arbitration “Answers” a Complaint
May 15, 2014

I field a lot of good procedural questions about how arbitration pleadings should be styled. Some of them are answered within...

More on FINRA’s Ruling in the Schwab Class Action Waiver Case
May 15, 2014

I blogged yesterday (here) about FINRA’s Board of Governors’ Decision finding that Schwab violated FINRA’s rules by inserting a class action waiver in the PDAA in its customer agreement.  A few additional aspects of the decision are worth mentioning. First, FINRA’s Enforcement Department appealed the lower hearing panel’s adverse ruling to FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council (NAC), the body that typically hears appeals from Disciplinary Hearing Panel rulings.  Yet, the Board of Governors,...

FINRA Reverses Hearing Panel in Schwab Enforcement Case: Class Action Waiver Violates FINRA Rules
May 14, 2014

In a stunning but hoped-for result (based on am amicus brief I co-authored in the case), FINRA’s Board of Governors reversed a disciplinary hearing panel decision in the FINRA v Schwab enforcement action. (See some of my previous blog posts on the subject, here, here and here.) That hearing panel had held, among other things, that Schwab’s class action waiver in its standard customer agreement’s pre-dispute arbitration clause violated FINRA rules but those rules could not be enforced...

WIPO Publishes Administered Mediation Rules
May 12, 2014

The World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") has published a set of WIPO administered mediation rules effective June...

Another Arbitrator Disclosure Cert Petition to be Considered by SCOTUS Today
May 9, 2014

At this Friday’s conference, the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will consider another certiorari petition raising the proper standard for vacating an arbitration award under the Federal Arbitration Act on grounds of “evident partiality.”  The “Issues Presented” in Stone v. Bear, Stearns & Co (Docket No. 13-959), as set out by the petitioner, are as follows:   (1) Whether an arbitrator’s failure to disclose facts creating a reasonable impression of partiality warrants vacating...

Judge Orders Uber to Change ADR Clause
May 8, 2014

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen has ordered Uber to change the wording of an arbitration clause in its agreement with drivers—and this time he really means it. In an order issued Thursday, the San Francisco federal judge agreed with plaintiffs lawyers that Uber's use of an arbitration agreement was meant to limit drivers' participation in several pending class actions over tips and expenses. The company must inform new drivers of the class action and how their rights would be affected by agreeing...

Five Things You Didn’t Know about Arbitration
May 8, 2014

Arbitration is by no means a new option for resolving disputes. Yet, parties and their counsel may not be aware of everything...

Can Social Media Lead to Mandatory Arbitration?
May 7, 2014

Could “liking” a company on Facebook mean you’re agreeing to its binding arbitration clause? According to Thomas DeMicco of...