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Arbitration
Even in the Ninth Circuit, Courts Should Not Intervene Mid-Arbitration
February 6, 2015
It is generally accepted that courts may only engage in the very front and very back end of an arbitration. At the outset, courts may determine whether the parties agreed to arbitrate the dispute, and at the end, courts may determine if the arbitration met the basic fairness requirements of the Federal Arbitration Act. However, in a 1973 case the Ninth Circuit had indicated there may be some “extreme” circumstances where mid-arbitration intervention was appropriate. This week, the Ninth Circuit...
February 6, 2015
It is generally accepted that courts may only engage in the very front and very back end of an arbitration. At the outset, courts may determine whether the parties agreed to arbitrate the dispute, and at the end, courts may determine if the arbitration met the basic fairness requirements of the Federal Arbitration Act. However, in a 1973 case the Ninth Circuit had indicated there may be some “extreme” circumstances where mid-arbitration intervention was appropriate. This week, the Ninth Circuit...
Corpus Christi COA Holds Arbitration Agreement Was Not Unconscionable in Construction Dispute
February 5, 2015
In Valli Construction, Inc. v. Alvites Concrete Services, No. 13-13-00295-CV (Tex. App – Corpus Christi, December 30, 2014),...
February 5, 2015
In Valli Construction, Inc. v. Alvites Concrete Services, No. 13-13-00295-CV (Tex. App – Corpus Christi, December 30, 2014),...
Who Decides Whether New Claims Are Precluded By Old Arbitration? An Arbitrator, Says 2d Circuit
February 5, 2015
We all know that the doctrines of issue preclusion (collateral estoppel) and claim preclusion (res judicata) apply with equal force to both arbitration awards and court orders. But, if your adversary brings new claims that you believe have already been determined in arbitration, where do you go to shut down those new claims — court or arbitration? A recent decision from the Second Circuit clarifies that arguments about issue or claim preclusion should generally be made in arbitration. Citigroup,...
February 5, 2015
We all know that the doctrines of issue preclusion (collateral estoppel) and claim preclusion (res judicata) apply with equal force to both arbitration awards and court orders. But, if your adversary brings new claims that you believe have already been determined in arbitration, where do you go to shut down those new claims — court or arbitration? A recent decision from the Second Circuit clarifies that arguments about issue or claim preclusion should generally be made in arbitration. Citigroup,...
Electronic Signature May Not Bind to Arbitration Agreement in California
February 4, 2015
Gary Gansle and Nisha Patel, attorneys at Patton Boggs, recently summarized a decision from the California Court of Appeal, holding that an employee's electronic signature to an arbitration agreement may not have been sufficient evidence that the signature was the act of the employee. The court then refused to enforce the arbitration agreement. The California's court's decision is here. The decision is worth reading because it discusses how the company should have authenticated the employee's electronic...
February 4, 2015
Gary Gansle and Nisha Patel, attorneys at Patton Boggs, recently summarized a decision from the California Court of Appeal, holding that an employee's electronic signature to an arbitration agreement may not have been sufficient evidence that the signature was the act of the employee. The court then refused to enforce the arbitration agreement. The California's court's decision is here. The decision is worth reading because it discusses how the company should have authenticated the employee's electronic...
Baseball Arbitration
February 3, 2015
Experienced arbitrators and mediators know about "baseball arbitration." Now is the season. You can find a list of the 175 players who filed for arbitration courtesy of the New York Times. The Times also reports that 95 players already settled, with David Price of the Detroit Tigers agreeing to a one-year, $19.75 million deal last Friday. Those cases that don't settle will be resolved by a three-person panel in February. Of the 146 players who filed for arbitration last year, only 3 needed decisions...
February 3, 2015
Experienced arbitrators and mediators know about "baseball arbitration." Now is the season. You can find a list of the 175 players who filed for arbitration courtesy of the New York Times. The Times also reports that 95 players already settled, with David Price of the Detroit Tigers agreeing to a one-year, $19.75 million deal last Friday. Those cases that don't settle will be resolved by a three-person panel in February. Of the 146 players who filed for arbitration last year, only 3 needed decisions...
Supreme Court of Texas Reverses Appellate Court’s Holding in Arbitration Waiver Case
February 3, 2015
The Supreme Court of Texas has reversed an appellate court’s holding that a company waived its right to arbitration by substantially invoking the judicial process. In Richmont Holdings, Inc. v. Superior Recharge Systems, L.L.C., No. 13-0907 (Tex., December 19, 2014), Richmont Holdings purchased the assets of another company, Superior Recharge Systems, through an affiliate. The parties’ purchase agreement stated they would resolve any future disputes through binding arbitration. At the time...
February 3, 2015
The Supreme Court of Texas has reversed an appellate court’s holding that a company waived its right to arbitration by substantially invoking the judicial process. In Richmont Holdings, Inc. v. Superior Recharge Systems, L.L.C., No. 13-0907 (Tex., December 19, 2014), Richmont Holdings purchased the assets of another company, Superior Recharge Systems, through an affiliate. The parties’ purchase agreement stated they would resolve any future disputes through binding arbitration. At the time...
SCOTUS Allows California to Interpret Federal Arbitration Act As Excluding Private Attorney General Claims
February 3, 2015
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari in the Iskanian case from the California Supreme Court. In doing so, SCOTUS allowed one of the most interesting Federal Arbitration Act interpretations in recent years to stand. As you may recall, the decision held that the Federal Arbitration Act did not apply to labor code enforcement lawsuits brought by employees pursuant to California’s Private Attorneys General Act. The California court reasoned that those claims are really...
February 3, 2015
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari in the Iskanian case from the California Supreme Court. In doing so, SCOTUS allowed one of the most interesting Federal Arbitration Act interpretations in recent years to stand. As you may recall, the decision held that the Federal Arbitration Act did not apply to labor code enforcement lawsuits brought by employees pursuant to California’s Private Attorneys General Act. The California court reasoned that those claims are really...
Second Circuit Un-Vacates Arbitration Award, Finding No Manifest Disregard
February 2, 2015
The Second Circuit reversed a district court’s vacatur of an arbitration award this week, finding that the arbitration panel did not manifestly disregard the law when it refused the respondent’s reading of a state statute. Sotheby’s Int’l Realty, Inc. v. Relocation Group, LLC, 2015 WL 64265 (2d Cir. Jan. 6, 2015). In doing so, the Second Circuit suggests that 2014’s theme (arbitrator authority) is continuing into the new year. The dispute in Sotheby’s was between two realty firms...
February 2, 2015
The Second Circuit reversed a district court’s vacatur of an arbitration award this week, finding that the arbitration panel did not manifestly disregard the law when it refused the respondent’s reading of a state statute. Sotheby’s Int’l Realty, Inc. v. Relocation Group, LLC, 2015 WL 64265 (2d Cir. Jan. 6, 2015). In doing so, the Second Circuit suggests that 2014’s theme (arbitrator authority) is continuing into the new year. The dispute in Sotheby’s was between two realty firms...
Arbitration Agreement Does Not Preclude Lawsuit By Chiropractor Against Employer
February 2, 2015
“An Ohio chiropractor can bring a lawsuit against Aetna Inc in federal court despite having already settled his claims against the company, a U.S. judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in New Jersey said last week that an arbitration agreement between chiropractor Peter Manz and Aetna was not binding because his claims arose from a health insurance plan governed by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The ruling applies a similar decision last May from the 3rd U.S....
February 2, 2015
“An Ohio chiropractor can bring a lawsuit against Aetna Inc in federal court despite having already settled his claims against the company, a U.S. judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in New Jersey said last week that an arbitration agreement between chiropractor Peter Manz and Aetna was not binding because his claims arose from a health insurance plan governed by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The ruling applies a similar decision last May from the 3rd U.S....
SCOTUS Denies Cert in CA Representative Arbitration Case
January 27, 2015
The US Supreme Court denied certiorari in CLS Transportation v. Iskanian, which dealt with a "representative" rather than class arbitration in the California State Courts. In the case below (327 P.3d 129 (Ca. 2014)), the Supreme Court of California had allowed a large-scale representative action under the California Private Attorney Generals Act (PAGA) to go forward, although a class action under the National Labor Relations Act was barred due to the existence of a waiver of class arbitration. In...
January 27, 2015
The US Supreme Court denied certiorari in CLS Transportation v. Iskanian, which dealt with a "representative" rather than class arbitration in the California State Courts. In the case below (327 P.3d 129 (Ca. 2014)), the Supreme Court of California had allowed a large-scale representative action under the California Private Attorney Generals Act (PAGA) to go forward, although a class action under the National Labor Relations Act was barred due to the existence of a waiver of class arbitration. In...
