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Arbitration
Choosing A Forum For Dispute Resolution
May 29, 2013
To the best of our knowledge, funding contracts generally require arbitration to resolve disputes. While arbitration has significant appeal, it may not always be the optimal arrangement for reasons laid out below. Therefore, the model contract defaults to New York courts as the forum for dispute resolution. Arbitration’s Appeal and Downsides Arbitration has one significant advantage over courts: secrecy (confidentiality). Even the fact of the dispute can be kept secret, which preserves...
May 29, 2013
To the best of our knowledge, funding contracts generally require arbitration to resolve disputes. While arbitration has significant appeal, it may not always be the optimal arrangement for reasons laid out below. Therefore, the model contract defaults to New York courts as the forum for dispute resolution. Arbitration’s Appeal and Downsides Arbitration has one significant advantage over courts: secrecy (confidentiality). Even the fact of the dispute can be kept secret, which preserves...
Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013 introduced in Congress
May 24, 2013
Once again, a bill to ban mandatory arbitration of consumer, employment and civil rights disputes has been introduced into both houses of Congress. It is sponsored by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA). The text is not yet available, but the press release states the following: “What the Arbitration Fairness Act Does: • Restores the original intent of the FAA by clarifying the scope of its application. • Amends the FAA by adding a new chapter invalidating agreements that...
May 24, 2013
Once again, a bill to ban mandatory arbitration of consumer, employment and civil rights disputes has been introduced into both houses of Congress. It is sponsored by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA). The text is not yet available, but the press release states the following: “What the Arbitration Fairness Act Does: • Restores the original intent of the FAA by clarifying the scope of its application. • Amends the FAA by adding a new chapter invalidating agreements that...
Interest Arbitration as Alternative Dispute Resolution: The History
May 24, 2013
Joseph E. Slater, Eugene N. Balk Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Lawhas published an informative...
May 24, 2013
Joseph E. Slater, Eugene N. Balk Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Lawhas published an informative...
Recipe For The Best Arbitration Agreement Ever
May 24, 2013
As a thank you to all the subscribers and readers who continue fueling Arbitration Nation’s success, this 100th blog post contains my recipe for the Best Arbitration Agreement Ever. (I know, where did the time go?? The blog is growing up so fast!) What should your arbitration agreement include? How can you best take advantage of the new case law under the FAA? Here are some tips. First, a caveat. I will not include draft language here. That would be what my marketing team...
May 24, 2013
As a thank you to all the subscribers and readers who continue fueling Arbitration Nation’s success, this 100th blog post contains my recipe for the Best Arbitration Agreement Ever. (I know, where did the time go?? The blog is growing up so fast!) What should your arbitration agreement include? How can you best take advantage of the new case law under the FAA? Here are some tips. First, a caveat. I will not include draft language here. That would be what my marketing team...
Corpus Christi COA Upholds $31 Million Arbitral Award
May 23, 2013
The 13th District of Texas has upheld an arbitral award in an investment dispute. In Black v. Shor, No. 13-11-00413-CV,...
May 23, 2013
The 13th District of Texas has upheld an arbitral award in an investment dispute. In Black v. Shor, No. 13-11-00413-CV,...
Federal Courts Can Enjoin State Court Litigation of Arbitrable Claims
May 23, 2013
In a new case that reminds federal judges everywhere to sing “I’ve got the power!” like C&C Music Factory, the Fifth Circuit reiterates that federal courts can stay related state court actions if necessary to “protect or effectuate” an order compelling arbitration. American Family Life Assurance Co. of Columbus v. Biles, __ F.3d __, 2013 WL 1809766 (5th Cir. April 30, 2013). The underlying facts of the case highlight a tragically dysfunctional family. An adult homosexual man named...
May 23, 2013
In a new case that reminds federal judges everywhere to sing “I’ve got the power!” like C&C Music Factory, the Fifth Circuit reiterates that federal courts can stay related state court actions if necessary to “protect or effectuate” an order compelling arbitration. American Family Life Assurance Co. of Columbus v. Biles, __ F.3d __, 2013 WL 1809766 (5th Cir. April 30, 2013). The underlying facts of the case highlight a tragically dysfunctional family. An adult homosexual man named...
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Two Lawsuits Filed Against Nursing Homes Where Heirs Signed Arbitration Agreements
May 23, 2013
Last week, the United States Supreme Court reportedly refused to consider two wrongful death cases against nursing homes in Illinois and Kentucky where the plaintiff signed an arbitration agreement. In Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Co., LLC, No. 12-1012, the daughter of a woman who died while in the care of an Illinois nursing home filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the facility. At the time of the woman’s admission, her daughter, Sue Carter, signed an arbitration agreement on her incapacitated...
May 23, 2013
Last week, the United States Supreme Court reportedly refused to consider two wrongful death cases against nursing homes in Illinois and Kentucky where the plaintiff signed an arbitration agreement. In Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Co., LLC, No. 12-1012, the daughter of a woman who died while in the care of an Illinois nursing home filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the facility. At the time of the woman’s admission, her daughter, Sue Carter, signed an arbitration agreement on her incapacitated...
Arbitrator’s Creative IP Remedy Upheld Because It Furthered “General Aims of Agreement”
May 22, 2013
In a dispute over whether an arbitrator has authority to grant a video game developer and publisher a perpetual license in the intellectual property as a remedy for the developer’s fraud and breaches of contract, the Fifth Circuit found that the arbitrator’s creative award must be upheld under the Federal Arbitration Act, and set forth new guidance for courts confronting similar issues. Timegate Studios, Inc. v. Southpeak Interactive, LLC, __ F.3d __, 2013 WL 1437710 (5th Cir. April 9, 2013). The...
May 22, 2013
In a dispute over whether an arbitrator has authority to grant a video game developer and publisher a perpetual license in the intellectual property as a remedy for the developer’s fraud and breaches of contract, the Fifth Circuit found that the arbitrator’s creative award must be upheld under the Federal Arbitration Act, and set forth new guidance for courts confronting similar issues. Timegate Studios, Inc. v. Southpeak Interactive, LLC, __ F.3d __, 2013 WL 1437710 (5th Cir. April 9, 2013). The...
Dallas Appeals Court Holds Arbitral Award Must Stand in Construction Dispute
May 22, 2013
The Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas has affirmed a lower court’s decision to confirm an arbitral award in a construction dispute. In Goldman v. Buchanan, No. 05-12-00050-CV, (Tex. App.—Dallas Mar. 21, 2013, no. pet. h.), Beryl Goldman entered into a contract to design and build a new house with an architect, Russell Buchanan, and a builder, Lawrence Wallace. The parties’ agreement contained an arbitration provision. Once construction was completed, Goldman sued both Buchanan...
May 22, 2013
The Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas has affirmed a lower court’s decision to confirm an arbitral award in a construction dispute. In Goldman v. Buchanan, No. 05-12-00050-CV, (Tex. App.—Dallas Mar. 21, 2013, no. pet. h.), Beryl Goldman entered into a contract to design and build a new house with an architect, Russell Buchanan, and a builder, Lawrence Wallace. The parties’ agreement contained an arbitration provision. Once construction was completed, Goldman sued both Buchanan...
Arbitration and Access to Justice: Economic Analysis
May 21, 2013
Omri Ben-Shahar, Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School, has written a thoughtful paper entitled Arbitration and Access to Justice: Economic Analysis, University of Chicago Institute for Law & Economics Olin Research Paper No. 628 (January 2013). In his paper, Professor Ben-Shahar argues that mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts generally benefit most consumers. He also states that limiting access to arbitration in favor of a courtroom often provides an advantage...
May 21, 2013
Omri Ben-Shahar, Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School, has written a thoughtful paper entitled Arbitration and Access to Justice: Economic Analysis, University of Chicago Institute for Law & Economics Olin Research Paper No. 628 (January 2013). In his paper, Professor Ben-Shahar argues that mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts generally benefit most consumers. He also states that limiting access to arbitration in favor of a courtroom often provides an advantage...
