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Arbitration
Towards a New Heuristic Model: Investment Arbitration as a Political System
March 26, 2016
In this introduction to the Special Issue "Empirical Studies on Investment Disputes", we offer a new heuristic model to structure the thinking about investment arbitration. Investment arbitration is presented here as a political system in a sense inspired by David Easton's landmark theory: it transforms the input of key actors (namely states, investors, arbitrators, and arbitration institutions) into output (namely arbitral awards taken in the aggregate), with feedback loops from output to input,...
March 26, 2016
In this introduction to the Special Issue "Empirical Studies on Investment Disputes", we offer a new heuristic model to structure the thinking about investment arbitration. Investment arbitration is presented here as a political system in a sense inspired by David Easton's landmark theory: it transforms the input of key actors (namely states, investors, arbitrators, and arbitration institutions) into output (namely arbitral awards taken in the aggregate), with feedback loops from output to input,...
The Customer’s Non-Waivable Right to Choose Arbitration in the Securities Industry
March 25, 2016
Arbitration has been the predominant form of dispute resolution in the securities industry since the 1980s. Virtually all brokerage firms include pre-dispute arbitration agreements (PDAAs) in their retail customer contracts, and have successfully fought off challenges to their validity. Additionally, the industry has long mandated that firms submit to arbitration at the demand of a customer, even in the absence of a PDAA. More recently, however, brokerage firms have been arguing that forum selection...
March 25, 2016
Arbitration has been the predominant form of dispute resolution in the securities industry since the 1980s. Virtually all brokerage firms include pre-dispute arbitration agreements (PDAAs) in their retail customer contracts, and have successfully fought off challenges to their validity. Additionally, the industry has long mandated that firms submit to arbitration at the demand of a customer, even in the absence of a PDAA. More recently, however, brokerage firms have been arguing that forum selection...
Large-Scale Dispute Resolution in Jurisdictions Without Judicial Class Actions
March 25, 2016
University of Missouri School of Law Professor S.I. Strong has published “Large-Scale Dispute Resolution in Jurisdictions Without Judicial Class Actions: Learning From the Irish Experience,” ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law, Vol. 22, 2016, Forthcoming; University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2016-04. In her journal article, Professor Strong discusses innovative developments in the context of large-scale arbitration and other alternative dispute...
March 25, 2016
University of Missouri School of Law Professor S.I. Strong has published “Large-Scale Dispute Resolution in Jurisdictions Without Judicial Class Actions: Learning From the Irish Experience,” ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law, Vol. 22, 2016, Forthcoming; University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2016-04. In her journal article, Professor Strong discusses innovative developments in the context of large-scale arbitration and other alternative dispute...
Class-Action Plaintiffs Eagerly Await Federal CFPB Rule to Reopen Courthouse Doors
March 24, 2016
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's release of a controversial report....
March 24, 2016
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's release of a controversial report....
Jenner & Block $3M Fee Award Appeal Could Change Arbitration Law
March 23, 2016
A former patent client is taking its $3 million attorney fee fight against Jenner & Block to the Texas Supreme Court by arguing it's against public policy for the Chicago-based firm to collect after it allegedly walked away from the contingent fee case without just cause. "We believe that it's against public policy for lawyers to collect a contingency fee after they've walked away without just cause based on results that other lawyers achieved. Certainly that is the crux of the case,'' said...
March 23, 2016
A former patent client is taking its $3 million attorney fee fight against Jenner & Block to the Texas Supreme Court by arguing it's against public policy for the Chicago-based firm to collect after it allegedly walked away from the contingent fee case without just cause. "We believe that it's against public policy for lawyers to collect a contingency fee after they've walked away without just cause based on results that other lawyers achieved. Certainly that is the crux of the case,'' said...
SCOTX Declines to Review Order Compelling Arbitration in Real Estate Dispute
March 23, 2016
The Supreme Court of Texas has declined to review a case where a foreign real estate investor was ordered to arbitrate its claims against a law firm that allegedly helped a partner secure a secret loan. In Immobiliere Jeuness Establissement v. Ricardo G. Cedillo et al., No. 14-15-00101-CV (August 27, 2015), a Liechtenstein-based limited partner, Immobiliere Jeuness Establissement (“IJE”), of two Texas limited partnerships (the “Original Partnerships”) sued the Texas entities for breach of contract...
March 23, 2016
The Supreme Court of Texas has declined to review a case where a foreign real estate investor was ordered to arbitrate its claims against a law firm that allegedly helped a partner secure a secret loan. In Immobiliere Jeuness Establissement v. Ricardo G. Cedillo et al., No. 14-15-00101-CV (August 27, 2015), a Liechtenstein-based limited partner, Immobiliere Jeuness Establissement (“IJE”), of two Texas limited partnerships (the “Original Partnerships”) sued the Texas entities for breach of contract...
NLRB Orders California Grocery Chain to Revise Arbitration Agreement Banning Workers From Maintaining Class Actions
March 22, 2016
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has once again ordered an employer to stop “[m]aintaining and/or enforcing...
March 22, 2016
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has once again ordered an employer to stop “[m]aintaining and/or enforcing...
NLRB Continues to Rule that Class Arbitration Waivers Violate the NLRA
March 22, 2016
In December, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) continued its recent trend of issuing decisions that state class...
March 22, 2016
In December, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) continued its recent trend of issuing decisions that state class...
The Historical Basis of Securities Arbitration as an Investor Protection Mechanism
March 18, 2016
This article explores the history of arbitration in the securities industry, focusing on the right of customers to demand arbitration of broker-dealer disputes. The article argues that, rather than depicting FINRA arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution process offering a level playing field, FINRA, as well as industry and investor advocates, should recall and reinforce the historical basis of securities arbitration as a mechanism to protect investors.
March 18, 2016
This article explores the history of arbitration in the securities industry, focusing on the right of customers to demand arbitration of broker-dealer disputes. The article argues that, rather than depicting FINRA arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution process offering a level playing field, FINRA, as well as industry and investor advocates, should recall and reinforce the historical basis of securities arbitration as a mechanism to protect investors.
SCOTX Will Not Review Case Ordering Evident Partiality Discovery
March 18, 2016
The Supreme Court of Texas has denied a party’s request to review the Dallas Appeals Court’s decision allowing post-arbitration discovery in a case that was filed by an injured worker. In Rodas v. La Madeleine of Texas, No. 15-0340, a woman sought damages from her employer for the purported injuries she sustained in an accident at work. At the time, the woman’s employer was not a Texas workers’ compensation insurance coverage subscriber. The dispute was later sent to arbitration and an award...
March 18, 2016
The Supreme Court of Texas has denied a party’s request to review the Dallas Appeals Court’s decision allowing post-arbitration discovery in a case that was filed by an injured worker. In Rodas v. La Madeleine of Texas, No. 15-0340, a woman sought damages from her employer for the purported injuries she sustained in an accident at work. At the time, the woman’s employer was not a Texas workers’ compensation insurance coverage subscriber. The dispute was later sent to arbitration and an award...
