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Arbitration
The Starbucks-Kraft Dispute: In Business Negotiations, Prepare for Problems
December 16, 2013
A three-year dispute between Starbucks and Kraft Foods over distribution of Starbucks packaged coffee in grocery stores was resolved on November 12, when an arbitrator determined that Starbucks had breached its agreement with Kraft and ordered the coffeemaker to pay the food giant $2.75 billion, Stephanie Strom reported in The New York Times. The dispute dates back to an agreement negotiated in 1998 when Kraft began selling Starbucks packaged coffee through grocery stores. In 2010, with sales...
December 16, 2013
A three-year dispute between Starbucks and Kraft Foods over distribution of Starbucks packaged coffee in grocery stores was resolved on November 12, when an arbitrator determined that Starbucks had breached its agreement with Kraft and ordered the coffeemaker to pay the food giant $2.75 billion, Stephanie Strom reported in The New York Times. The dispute dates back to an agreement negotiated in 1998 when Kraft began selling Starbucks packaged coffee through grocery stores. In 2010, with sales...
CFPB Report on Consumer Arbitration Released
December 13, 2013
The Consumer Finance Protection Agency (CFPB) today released a report under its explicit Dodd-Frank authority. “Under...
December 13, 2013
The Consumer Finance Protection Agency (CFPB) today released a report under its explicit Dodd-Frank authority. “Under...
Arbitration v. Class Action Lawsuits: Do Class Actions Benefit Class Members?
December 13, 2013
It is becoming the battle of dueling studies on arbitration vs. class action lawsuits. In an effort to sway the opinion...
December 13, 2013
It is becoming the battle of dueling studies on arbitration vs. class action lawsuits. In an effort to sway the opinion...
West Virginia Has A Change Of Heart About Arbitration
December 13, 2013
A few months ago, you would have reasonably thought that West Virginia was one of the most anti-arbitration states in the country. ...
December 13, 2013
A few months ago, you would have reasonably thought that West Virginia was one of the most anti-arbitration states in the country. ...
Consumer Agency Finds Arbitration Agreements Unpopular, Confusing
December 12, 2013
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today released a report looking at the use of arbitration agreements in consumer...
December 12, 2013
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today released a report looking at the use of arbitration agreements in consumer...
Improving Arbitration-Award Making and Enforcement by Faithfully Implementing the Purposes and Objectives of the Federal Arbitration Act
December 11, 2013
Part I: An Introduction to the Problem and its Solution Arbitration can be a very effective way of resolving a wide range of disputes arising out of many legal and commercial relationships. It can benefit the parties if they make informed decisions about agreeing to it, and craft their agreement accordingly. It can benefit the courts and the general public by shifting to the private sector dispute-resolution costs that the public-sector would otherwise bear. Arbitration is not a perfect form...
December 11, 2013
Part I: An Introduction to the Problem and its Solution Arbitration can be a very effective way of resolving a wide range of disputes arising out of many legal and commercial relationships. It can benefit the parties if they make informed decisions about agreeing to it, and craft their agreement accordingly. It can benefit the courts and the general public by shifting to the private sector dispute-resolution costs that the public-sector would otherwise bear. Arbitration is not a perfect form...
D.C. Avoids Arbitration in $117 Million Lawsuit Against Bank of America
December 10, 2013
The District of Columbia can move forward with a $117 million lawsuit against Bank of America N.A. in connection with an embezzlement scheme carried out by a former city employee, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled last week. Harriette Walters, a former manager in the city's tax office, is serving more than 17 years in jail after pleading guilty to issuing $48 million in fraudulent property tax refunds. The District sued Bank of America in 2008, accusing it of failing to take steps to protect the city's...
December 10, 2013
The District of Columbia can move forward with a $117 million lawsuit against Bank of America N.A. in connection with an embezzlement scheme carried out by a former city employee, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled last week. Harriette Walters, a former manager in the city's tax office, is serving more than 17 years in jail after pleading guilty to issuing $48 million in fraudulent property tax refunds. The District sued Bank of America in 2008, accusing it of failing to take steps to protect the city's...
Litigators Eye AAA Rules Allowing Appeal of Arbitral Decisions
December 9, 2013
For the first time, parties in a dispute before the American Arbitration Association (AAA) can opt for built-in appellate review of arbitral awards. But reception to the new AAA appellate rules, which became effective on Nov. 1, has been mixed among Texas litigators. The AAA's optional appellate rules can only be used when there is an agreement between the parties, and the rules only allow parties to appeal based on errors of law and clearly erroneous determinations of fact. The AAA appellate...
December 9, 2013
For the first time, parties in a dispute before the American Arbitration Association (AAA) can opt for built-in appellate review of arbitral awards. But reception to the new AAA appellate rules, which became effective on Nov. 1, has been mixed among Texas litigators. The AAA's optional appellate rules can only be used when there is an agreement between the parties, and the rules only allow parties to appeal based on errors of law and clearly erroneous determinations of fact. The AAA appellate...
Texas Supreme Court to Ring in New Year With Two Arbitration Cases
December 9, 2013
The Texas Supreme Court will hear a pair of cases that present significant questions for the beginning and the end of the arbitration process. Those include whether an "unconscionable attorney fees" provision voids an arbitration agreement and what parties must do to vacate an arbitration award for alleged evident partiality. Those issues arise in Venture Cotton Cooperative and Noble Americas Corp. v. Shelby Alan Freemanand Ponderosa Pine Energy LLC v. Tenaska Energy Inc., on which the high...
December 9, 2013
The Texas Supreme Court will hear a pair of cases that present significant questions for the beginning and the end of the arbitration process. Those include whether an "unconscionable attorney fees" provision voids an arbitration agreement and what parties must do to vacate an arbitration award for alleged evident partiality. Those issues arise in Venture Cotton Cooperative and Noble Americas Corp. v. Shelby Alan Freemanand Ponderosa Pine Energy LLC v. Tenaska Energy Inc., on which the high...
California Supreme Court Attempts to Thread the Unconscionability Needle
December 5, 2013
California’s appellate courts have had a strained relationship with the U.S. Supreme Court when it comes to enforcement of the FAA in the last few years. Illustrative of this tension is a recent decision captioned Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, No. S174475 (Cal. Oct. 17, 2013) (“Sonic II”). The Court in Sonic II was instructed by the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling in Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, 51 Cal. 4th 659 (2011) (“Sonic I”), which invalidated an arbitration...
December 5, 2013
California’s appellate courts have had a strained relationship with the U.S. Supreme Court when it comes to enforcement of the FAA in the last few years. Illustrative of this tension is a recent decision captioned Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, No. S174475 (Cal. Oct. 17, 2013) (“Sonic II”). The Court in Sonic II was instructed by the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling in Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, 51 Cal. 4th 659 (2011) (“Sonic I”), which invalidated an arbitration...
