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Arbitration
Dallas COA Dismisses Arbitration Award for Lack of Jurisdiction
September 19, 2013
Texas’ Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas has invalidated an arbitration award for lack of jurisdiction. In American...
September 19, 2013
Texas’ Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas has invalidated an arbitration award for lack of jurisdiction. In American...
Second and Ninth Circuits Allow Employers To Preclude Collective FLSA Claims, Rejecting NLRB Ruling
September 18, 2013
In January of this year, the Eighth Circuit was the first federal appellate court to refuse to adopt the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling on class action waivers in employment contracts. (The previous year, in D.R. Horton, the NLRB declared it a violation of federal labor law for employers to require employees to waive their rights to class actions.) Last month, the Second and Ninth Circuits joined the Eighth Circuit in that stance. In Sutherland v. Ernst & Young, __ F.3d__,...
September 18, 2013
In January of this year, the Eighth Circuit was the first federal appellate court to refuse to adopt the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling on class action waivers in employment contracts. (The previous year, in D.R. Horton, the NLRB declared it a violation of federal labor law for employers to require employees to waive their rights to class actions.) Last month, the Second and Ninth Circuits joined the Eighth Circuit in that stance. In Sutherland v. Ernst & Young, __ F.3d__,...
Six New Rules for Commercial Arbitration
September 18, 2013
The American Arbitration Association, whose arbitration rules applied to 6,000 commercial disputes last year, released updated commercial arbitration rules on September 9th. The changes come largely as a result of “party preferences,” AAA General Counsel Eric Tuchmann told CorpCounsel.com. Corporate users and attorneys alike say they want “a better-managed process” and “an arbitrator who’s going to take control of the case,” according to Tuchmann. The updates include clear language...
September 18, 2013
The American Arbitration Association, whose arbitration rules applied to 6,000 commercial disputes last year, released updated commercial arbitration rules on September 9th. The changes come largely as a result of “party preferences,” AAA General Counsel Eric Tuchmann told CorpCounsel.com. Corporate users and attorneys alike say they want “a better-managed process” and “an arbitrator who’s going to take control of the case,” according to Tuchmann. The updates include clear language...
Class-Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements Are Enforceable
September 18, 2013
The Fourth Circuit held that class-action waivers in otherwise valid arbitration agreements are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S.Ct. 1740 (2011), “plainly prohibited” the courts from invalidating an otherwise valid arbitration agreement due to a class-action waiver. As a result, it is error to hold that a class-action waiver in an arbitration agreement is unconscionable.
September 18, 2013
The Fourth Circuit held that class-action waivers in otherwise valid arbitration agreements are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S.Ct. 1740 (2011), “plainly prohibited” the courts from invalidating an otherwise valid arbitration agreement due to a class-action waiver. As a result, it is error to hold that a class-action waiver in an arbitration agreement is unconscionable.
Global Disputes of the Year
September 17, 2013
The American Lawyer Global Disputes of the Year honor the winning team in transnational cases no matter where they play out. Among this year’s winners are the holders of record awards in both commercial and investment arbitration (The Dow Chemical Company and Occidental Petroleum Corporation). Roman Abramovich and Porsche Automobil Holding SE beat back multibillion-dollar transnational claims in more traditional (national) forums. Mayer Brown improbably pioneered the law in Geneva on technical...
September 17, 2013
The American Lawyer Global Disputes of the Year honor the winning team in transnational cases no matter where they play out. Among this year’s winners are the holders of record awards in both commercial and investment arbitration (The Dow Chemical Company and Occidental Petroleum Corporation). Roman Abramovich and Porsche Automobil Holding SE beat back multibillion-dollar transnational claims in more traditional (national) forums. Mayer Brown improbably pioneered the law in Geneva on technical...
Motion Practice in Arbitrations
September 17, 2013
Perhaps stalwarts of arbitration would prefer the issue put as a question: Should motion practice be part of arbitrations? Certainly, some would argue that the answer to the question should be “no,” fearing that allowing some type of motion practice in arbitrations would be yet another sign that arbitrations have morphed into litigation. But the reality is that discovery motions and dispositive motions are becoming a staple in more complex arbitrations; and they are being filed in even less complex...
September 17, 2013
Perhaps stalwarts of arbitration would prefer the issue put as a question: Should motion practice be part of arbitrations? Certainly, some would argue that the answer to the question should be “no,” fearing that allowing some type of motion practice in arbitrations would be yet another sign that arbitrations have morphed into litigation. But the reality is that discovery motions and dispositive motions are becoming a staple in more complex arbitrations; and they are being filed in even less complex...
Is a Receiver Bound to Arbitration Agreement if Suing on Behalf of Creditors?
September 16, 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 16, 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.
Legal Ethics Rules and the Federal Arbitration Act
September 8, 2013
While the U.S. Supreme Court as recently as last month has affirmed its preference to enforce contractual arbitration clauses, a federal judge in Philadelphia questioned Wednesday whether that standard is impacted by professional ethics rules when the arbitration clause involves a law firm's client engagement letter. In a hearing on whether the legal malpractice case of Sanford v. Bracewell & Giuliani should be stayed pending arbitration, U.S. District Judge Joel Slomsky of the Eastern District...
September 8, 2013
While the U.S. Supreme Court as recently as last month has affirmed its preference to enforce contractual arbitration clauses, a federal judge in Philadelphia questioned Wednesday whether that standard is impacted by professional ethics rules when the arbitration clause involves a law firm's client engagement letter. In a hearing on whether the legal malpractice case of Sanford v. Bracewell & Giuliani should be stayed pending arbitration, U.S. District Judge Joel Slomsky of the Eastern District...
Does Information about Arbitrators’ Win/Loss Ratios Improve Their Accuracy?
September 5, 2013
This paper examines how providing litigants with information about arbitrators’ win/loss ratios affects arbitrators’ incentives in deciding the cases before them in an impartial and unbiased manner. We show that if litigants are informed about arbitrators’ past decisions, then arbitrators might want to make an incorrect decision when a correct decision would raise the suspicion that they are biased. Therefore, providing information about arbitrators’ past decisions might create adverse incentive...
September 5, 2013
This paper examines how providing litigants with information about arbitrators’ win/loss ratios affects arbitrators’ incentives in deciding the cases before them in an impartial and unbiased manner. We show that if litigants are informed about arbitrators’ past decisions, then arbitrators might want to make an incorrect decision when a correct decision would raise the suspicion that they are biased. Therefore, providing information about arbitrators’ past decisions might create adverse incentive...
Court Rejects Arbitrator Bias For Professional Interactions
September 3, 2013
Earlier this month, the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued a unanimous per curiam “not for publication” opinion in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as Receiver for Republic Federal Bank N.A. v. IIG Capital LLC (11th Cir. Docket No. 12-10686, August 7, 2013)(Carnes, C.J., Martin & Kravitch), succinctly rejecting an attack on an international arbitration award based on allegations of “evident partiality” under the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act arising out of contacts...
September 3, 2013
Earlier this month, the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued a unanimous per curiam “not for publication” opinion in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as Receiver for Republic Federal Bank N.A. v. IIG Capital LLC (11th Cir. Docket No. 12-10686, August 7, 2013)(Carnes, C.J., Martin & Kravitch), succinctly rejecting an attack on an international arbitration award based on allegations of “evident partiality” under the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act arising out of contacts...
