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Arbitration
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. ...
Texas Supreme Court Declines to Review Arbitration Order in Natural Gas Case
September 25, 2013
The Supreme Court of Texas has declined to review a First District Court of Appeals decision requiring arbitration in a natural gas contract dispute. In Enterprise Field Services, LLC v. TOC-Rocky Mountain, Inc., No. 01-12-00345-CV (Tex. App. 1st February 28, 2013), Houston’s First Appellate District compelled the case to arbitration despite that arbitration was not expressly required under the parties’ agreement because the dispute could not be decided without considering another contract...
September 25, 2013
The Supreme Court of Texas has declined to review a First District Court of Appeals decision requiring arbitration in a natural gas contract dispute. In Enterprise Field Services, LLC v. TOC-Rocky Mountain, Inc., No. 01-12-00345-CV (Tex. App. 1st February 28, 2013), Houston’s First Appellate District compelled the case to arbitration despite that arbitration was not expressly required under the parties’ agreement because the dispute could not be decided without considering another contract...
Illusoriness Gains In Popularity As An Arbitration Buster
September 24, 2013
You hear more about Lena Dunham than you expect, given the audience for “Girls”, right? (Read this article for more.) The same is true, or should be true, for the contract defense of illusoriness. After decades of disuse, it is popping up more and more often as a defense to the enforcement of arbitration clauses (like in New Mexico and the Fifth Circuit), and therefore qualifies as the “it girl” of arbitration law. Just last week, the Sixth Circuit issued a new decision, affirming...
September 24, 2013
You hear more about Lena Dunham than you expect, given the audience for “Girls”, right? (Read this article for more.) The same is true, or should be true, for the contract defense of illusoriness. After decades of disuse, it is popping up more and more often as a defense to the enforcement of arbitration clauses (like in New Mexico and the Fifth Circuit), and therefore qualifies as the “it girl” of arbitration law. Just last week, the Sixth Circuit issued a new decision, affirming...
SD of Texas Compels Arbitration with Nonsignatory in Maritime Dispute
September 24, 2013
The Southern District of Texas has ordered arbitration with a nonsignatory in a maritime contract dispute. In Kingsbury Navigation Ltd. v. Koch Supply & Trading, LP, No. 4:12-CV-1851 (S.D. Texas, August 24, 2013), Kingsbury Navigation, Ltd. (“Kingsbury”) entered into an agreement with Koch Shipping, Inc. (“Koch Shipping”) to utilize Kingsbury’s tanker, the Seadancer, to transport fuel. The agreement between the parties contained an arbitration clause. As is normal practice in the industry,...
September 24, 2013
The Southern District of Texas has ordered arbitration with a nonsignatory in a maritime contract dispute. In Kingsbury Navigation Ltd. v. Koch Supply & Trading, LP, No. 4:12-CV-1851 (S.D. Texas, August 24, 2013), Kingsbury Navigation, Ltd. (“Kingsbury”) entered into an agreement with Koch Shipping, Inc. (“Koch Shipping”) to utilize Kingsbury’s tanker, the Seadancer, to transport fuel. The agreement between the parties contained an arbitration clause. As is normal practice in the industry,...
Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case Involving Arbitrator Disqualification
September 23, 2013
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Texas agreed to hear Americo Life, Inc., et al. v. Robert L. Myer and Strider Marketing Group, Inc., No. 12-0739, which is currently on appeal from the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas. The issue in the case is whether an arbitration award of more than $26 million should be vacated based on an arbitrator’s disqualification by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) where the parties’ agreement to select an arbitrator purportedly conflicts with AAA rules. ...
September 23, 2013
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Texas agreed to hear Americo Life, Inc., et al. v. Robert L. Myer and Strider Marketing Group, Inc., No. 12-0739, which is currently on appeal from the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas. The issue in the case is whether an arbitration award of more than $26 million should be vacated based on an arbitrator’s disqualification by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) where the parties’ agreement to select an arbitrator purportedly conflicts with AAA rules. ...
Is a Receiver Bound to Arbitration Agreement if Suing on Behalf of Creditors?
September 23, 2013
The 5th Circuit rarely lets parties out of contracts that mandate that their disputes be settled through binding arbitration. That could turn out to be true even for the federally appointed receiver who's seeking to recover the allegedly fraudulently transferred assets of convicted financier R. Allen Stanford and his related companies.
September 23, 2013
The 5th Circuit rarely lets parties out of contracts that mandate that their disputes be settled through binding arbitration. That could turn out to be true even for the federally appointed receiver who's seeking to recover the allegedly fraudulently transferred assets of convicted financier R. Allen Stanford and his related companies.
Round-Up of Decisions on Motions to Compel Arbitration
September 21, 2013
Grosvenor v. Qwest Corp., No. 12-1095 (10th Cir. Aug. 14, 2013) (dismissing Qwest’s appeal of district court’s order...
September 21, 2013
Grosvenor v. Qwest Corp., No. 12-1095 (10th Cir. Aug. 14, 2013) (dismissing Qwest’s appeal of district court’s order...
The Court’s 2012 Class Act: A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That
September 20, 2013
University of Texas School of Law Professor Linda S. Mullenix has published, The Court’s 2012 Class Act: A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That, Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases, Vol. 40, No. 8, pp. 328-335 (Aug. 10, 2013); U of Texas Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 516. In her paper, Professor Mullenix examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent class litigation and arbitration decisions including Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter and American Express Co. v. Italian...
September 20, 2013
University of Texas School of Law Professor Linda S. Mullenix has published, The Court’s 2012 Class Act: A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That, Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases, Vol. 40, No. 8, pp. 328-335 (Aug. 10, 2013); U of Texas Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 516. In her paper, Professor Mullenix examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent class litigation and arbitration decisions including Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter and American Express Co. v. Italian...
FINRA Arbitration Rules Prohibiting Class Waiver NOT Preempted
September 20, 2013
From the BNA Labor Reports: “A federal district court in New York Sept. 11 declined to compel financial solutions analysts pursuing a class and collective overtime action against brokerage firm Merrill Lynch to individually arbitrate their claims under the procedures of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Zeltser v. Merrill Lynch & Co., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:13-cv-01531, 9/11/13). The Merrill Lynch employees, like others in the securities industry, were required to sign agreements to arbitrate...
September 20, 2013
From the BNA Labor Reports: “A federal district court in New York Sept. 11 declined to compel financial solutions analysts pursuing a class and collective overtime action against brokerage firm Merrill Lynch to individually arbitrate their claims under the procedures of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Zeltser v. Merrill Lynch & Co., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:13-cv-01531, 9/11/13). The Merrill Lynch employees, like others in the securities industry, were required to sign agreements to arbitrate...
Cert Sought in Montana Case Narrowly Crafting a Common Law Unconscionability / Adhesion Doctrine
September 19, 2013
In a 2005 article published in The Montana Lawyer, James M. Gaitis wrote that "it would appear that the [Montana Supreme] [C]ourt is on the brink of creating a narrowly crafted common law unconscionability/adhesion doctrine that applies solely to arbitration provisions." That appears to be what the Montana Supreme Court at least in part may have done in Kelker v. Geneva-Roth Ventures, 303 P.3d 777 (Mont. 2013), when it ruled that on online arbitration agreement regarding a "payday" loan was unconscionable...
September 19, 2013
In a 2005 article published in The Montana Lawyer, James M. Gaitis wrote that "it would appear that the [Montana Supreme] [C]ourt is on the brink of creating a narrowly crafted common law unconscionability/adhesion doctrine that applies solely to arbitration provisions." That appears to be what the Montana Supreme Court at least in part may have done in Kelker v. Geneva-Roth Ventures, 303 P.3d 777 (Mont. 2013), when it ruled that on online arbitration agreement regarding a "payday" loan was unconscionable...
