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Arbitration
Attorney Fees and Arbitrability Addressed by New York Appellate Court
August 14, 2019
In Steyn v. CRTV, LLC (In re Steyn), ____ A.D. 3d ____, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 5341, at *1 (1st Dep’t July 2, 2019), New York’s Appellate Division, First Department decided a case falling under the Federal Arbitration Act (the “FAA”) that involved two challenges: one to an award of attorney fees on manifest disregard of the law grounds, and the other to an award that a nonsignatory obtained by joining the petitioner’s counterclaim. The Court rejected the manifest-disregard challenge...
August 14, 2019
In Steyn v. CRTV, LLC (In re Steyn), ____ A.D. 3d ____, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 5341, at *1 (1st Dep’t July 2, 2019), New York’s Appellate Division, First Department decided a case falling under the Federal Arbitration Act (the “FAA”) that involved two challenges: one to an award of attorney fees on manifest disregard of the law grounds, and the other to an award that a nonsignatory obtained by joining the petitioner’s counterclaim. The Court rejected the manifest-disregard challenge...
The Fifth Circuit Weighs in About Who Decides Class Arbitrability
August 13, 2019
The Fifth Circuit just deepened (and confused) a Circuit split over the question of who decides whether an arbitration agreement permits class proceedings. See 20/20 Communications, Incorporated v. Crawford, 2019 WL 3281412 (5th Cir. July 22, 2019). Liz has written about the split here, here, and here. (You might also recall that SCOTUS flagged this issue, though it punted on it, in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, 139 S. Ct. 1407, 1417 n.4, 203 L.Ed.2d 636 (2019)...
August 13, 2019
The Fifth Circuit just deepened (and confused) a Circuit split over the question of who decides whether an arbitration agreement permits class proceedings. See 20/20 Communications, Incorporated v. Crawford, 2019 WL 3281412 (5th Cir. July 22, 2019). Liz has written about the split here, here, and here. (You might also recall that SCOTUS flagged this issue, though it punted on it, in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, 139 S. Ct. 1407, 1417 n.4, 203 L.Ed.2d 636 (2019)...
Fifth Circuit Overturns W.D. Texas Order Compelling Arbitration in FLSA Case
August 9, 2019
The nation’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a Texas federal court’s order compelling an at-will employee to arbitrate a pay dispute with her employer. In Trammell v. AccentCare, Inc., No. 18-50872 (5th Cir., June 7, 2019), a woman, Trammell, provided in-home personal care assistance services for a home healthcare provider, AccentCare, for several years as an at-will employee. In 2016, the company apparently mailed an arbitration agreement to...
August 9, 2019
The nation’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a Texas federal court’s order compelling an at-will employee to arbitrate a pay dispute with her employer. In Trammell v. AccentCare, Inc., No. 18-50872 (5th Cir., June 7, 2019), a woman, Trammell, provided in-home personal care assistance services for a home healthcare provider, AccentCare, for several years as an at-will employee. In 2016, the company apparently mailed an arbitration agreement to...
SCOTX Grants Petition For Review Over Local Government Arbitration Question
August 5, 2019
The Supreme Court of Texas agreed to consider whether the San Antonio River Authority must arbitrate a dispute related to the costs associated with a $10 million dam project. In San Antonio River Authority v. Austin Bridge & Road, L.P. and Hayward Baker Inc., No. 17-0905, the San Antonio River Authority (“River Authority”) entered into a construction contract to repair and stabilize the Medina Lake Dam with Austin Bridge & Road, L.P. (“Austin Bridge”) on behalf of itself...
August 5, 2019
The Supreme Court of Texas agreed to consider whether the San Antonio River Authority must arbitrate a dispute related to the costs associated with a $10 million dam project. In San Antonio River Authority v. Austin Bridge & Road, L.P. and Hayward Baker Inc., No. 17-0905, the San Antonio River Authority (“River Authority”) entered into a construction contract to repair and stabilize the Medina Lake Dam with Austin Bridge & Road, L.P. (“Austin Bridge”) on behalf of itself...
2018-2019 Term SCOTUS Arbitration Cases: What About Lamps Plus?
July 31, 2019
On April 24, 2019 in Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela, 587 U.S. ___, No. 17-998 (April 24, 2019), the United States Supreme Court considered whether whether consent to class arbitration may be inferred from ambiguous contract language. In a 5-4 opinion written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. the Court held that ambiguity in and of itself was not enough to infer party consent to class arbitration. Parties would have to clearly express their consent to class arbitration before courts could impose...
July 31, 2019
On April 24, 2019 in Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela, 587 U.S. ___, No. 17-998 (April 24, 2019), the United States Supreme Court considered whether whether consent to class arbitration may be inferred from ambiguous contract language. In a 5-4 opinion written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. the Court held that ambiguity in and of itself was not enough to infer party consent to class arbitration. Parties would have to clearly express their consent to class arbitration before courts could impose...
SCOTUS to Consider Whether Non-Signatory May Compel Arbitration Under New York Convention
July 30, 2019
The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to resolve a circuit split regarding whether a non-signatory to an agreement to arbitrate may compel arbitration under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”) based on the doctrine of equitable estoppel. In GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp. v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, et al., No. 18-1048, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held a non-signatory...
July 30, 2019
The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to resolve a circuit split regarding whether a non-signatory to an agreement to arbitrate may compel arbitration under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”) based on the doctrine of equitable estoppel. In GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp. v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, et al., No. 18-1048, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held a non-signatory...
“Infinite” Arbitration Clauses
July 29, 2019
Prof. David Horton of the University of California, Davis, School of Law has posted a provocative article scheduled to be published...
July 29, 2019
Prof. David Horton of the University of California, Davis, School of Law has posted a provocative article scheduled to be published...
Mandatory Arbitration and the Market for Reputation
July 11, 2019
Dr. Roy Shapira, Stigler Center, University of Chicago Booth School of Business Fellow and Radzyner Law School,...
July 11, 2019
Dr. Roy Shapira, Stigler Center, University of Chicago Booth School of Business Fellow and Radzyner Law School,...
An Empirical Study of Dispute Resolution Clauses in International Supply Contracts
July 10, 2019
International transactions present unique legal risks. When a contract touches several different nations, a party may not know where it will be called upon to defend a lawsuit or, alternatively, which nation’s law will be applied to resolve that dispute. To mitigate these risks, parties will often write dispute resolution provisions into their contracts. Arbitration clauses and forum selection clauses help to reduce uncertainty relating to forum. Choice-of-law clauses help to reduce uncertainty...
July 10, 2019
International transactions present unique legal risks. When a contract touches several different nations, a party may not know where it will be called upon to defend a lawsuit or, alternatively, which nation’s law will be applied to resolve that dispute. To mitigate these risks, parties will often write dispute resolution provisions into their contracts. Arbitration clauses and forum selection clauses help to reduce uncertainty relating to forum. Choice-of-law clauses help to reduce uncertainty...
Attorneys Describe the Art of Dispute Resolution at RIMS
July 9, 2019
Sometimes parties in a coverage dispute may want to sit down face to face and come to an agreement. Toward that end, the RIMS conference offered a panel presentation by three attorneys and a risk manager who extolled the virtue of mediation. Giulio Zanolla, an attorney who owns Zanolla Mediation in New York, said the beauty of mediation is the parties involved get to decide exactly what it will involve. They can decide with whom they want to mediate, what issues need to be mediated and how the mediation...
July 9, 2019
Sometimes parties in a coverage dispute may want to sit down face to face and come to an agreement. Toward that end, the RIMS conference offered a panel presentation by three attorneys and a risk manager who extolled the virtue of mediation. Giulio Zanolla, an attorney who owns Zanolla Mediation in New York, said the beauty of mediation is the parties involved get to decide exactly what it will involve. They can decide with whom they want to mediate, what issues need to be mediated and how the mediation...
