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Which Courts Consider Wikipedia a Reliable Source?
May 16, 2014
More than you might think according to Keith Lee, who authors a column at Above the Law in addition to his own very popular...
May 16, 2014
More than you might think according to Keith Lee, who authors a column at Above the Law in addition to his own very popular...
Third Circuit Finds Two Months of Litigation Sufficient to Waive Right to Arbitrate
May 16, 2014
In a decision this week, the Third Circuit found two related parties had waived their right to arbitrate claims. One was no suprise...
May 16, 2014
In a decision this week, the Third Circuit found two related parties had waived their right to arbitrate claims. One was no suprise...
Settlements and Negotiations Protected from Discovery in Mediation, But Not Otherwise
May 16, 2014
A federal trial court readily concluded that settlement agreements and settlement negotiations were protected from discovery by a mediation privilege if they took place in mediation, but were not protected if they occurred outside mediation. The court noted that most courts recognize a federal common law mediation privilege, and that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had observed that all states have apparently enacted a mediation privilege, while there is no state consensus regarding...
May 16, 2014
A federal trial court readily concluded that settlement agreements and settlement negotiations were protected from discovery by a mediation privilege if they took place in mediation, but were not protected if they occurred outside mediation. The court noted that most courts recognize a federal common law mediation privilege, and that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had observed that all states have apparently enacted a mediation privilege, while there is no state consensus regarding...
Average Americans Think They’re Smarter Than the Average American
May 16, 2014
The latest results from YouGov show that most Americans (55%) think that they are smarter than the average American - meaning that the average American thinks that they are smarter than the average American. A third of the country (34%) say that they are about as smart as the average person, while only 4% say that they are less intelligent than average Americans. People with higher levels of educational attainment say that they are smarter than most Americans, with fully 51% of people with post-graduate...
May 16, 2014
The latest results from YouGov show that most Americans (55%) think that they are smarter than the average American - meaning that the average American thinks that they are smarter than the average American. A third of the country (34%) say that they are about as smart as the average person, while only 4% say that they are less intelligent than average Americans. People with higher levels of educational attainment say that they are smarter than most Americans, with fully 51% of people with post-graduate...
ODR Conference in June 2014 at Hastings/Stanford
May 15, 2014
From Ethan Katsh (U Mass): The 2014 International Online Dispute Resolution Conference will be held in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, June 25-27, 2014. ODR 2014 <http://www.odr2014.org> will bring together the technology, law and dispute resolution communities, academic researchers, representatives of financial institutions, ecommerce and social media companies, and social justice advocates using innovative technologies to leverage change. It will be preceded by a “Hack for Justice”...
May 15, 2014
From Ethan Katsh (U Mass): The 2014 International Online Dispute Resolution Conference will be held in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, June 25-27, 2014. ODR 2014 <http://www.odr2014.org> will bring together the technology, law and dispute resolution communities, academic researchers, representatives of financial institutions, ecommerce and social media companies, and social justice advocates using innovative technologies to leverage change. It will be preceded by a “Hack for Justice”...
The 2013 Patent Litigation Year in Review
May 15, 2014
We are excited to announce our first annual Patent Litigation Year in Review, containing unique insights about districts,...
May 15, 2014
We are excited to announce our first annual Patent Litigation Year in Review, containing unique insights about districts,...
A Motion to Compel Arbitration “Answers” a Complaint
May 15, 2014
I field a lot of good procedural questions about how arbitration pleadings should be styled. Some of them are answered within...
May 15, 2014
I field a lot of good procedural questions about how arbitration pleadings should be styled. Some of them are answered within...
Term Sheet from Mediation Admissible If Settlement Reached, Regardless of Confidentiality Agreement
May 15, 2014
After the parties signed a term sheet in mediation to resolve a class action, one side tried to prevent the document from being introduced in court based on a mediation confidentiality agreement, but a federal trial court concluded that if a full settlement had been reached the term sheet would be admissible regardless of the confidentiality agreement, and the court could review the document to make that determination. The court noted that neither the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit...
May 15, 2014
After the parties signed a term sheet in mediation to resolve a class action, one side tried to prevent the document from being introduced in court based on a mediation confidentiality agreement, but a federal trial court concluded that if a full settlement had been reached the term sheet would be admissible regardless of the confidentiality agreement, and the court could review the document to make that determination. The court noted that neither the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit...
More on FINRA’s Ruling in the Schwab Class Action Waiver Case
May 15, 2014
I blogged yesterday (here) about FINRA’s Board of Governors’ Decision finding that Schwab violated FINRA’s rules by inserting a class action waiver in the PDAA in its customer agreement. A few additional aspects of the decision are worth mentioning. First, FINRA’s Enforcement Department appealed the lower hearing panel’s adverse ruling to FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council (NAC), the body that typically hears appeals from Disciplinary Hearing Panel rulings. Yet, the Board of Governors,...
May 15, 2014
I blogged yesterday (here) about FINRA’s Board of Governors’ Decision finding that Schwab violated FINRA’s rules by inserting a class action waiver in the PDAA in its customer agreement. A few additional aspects of the decision are worth mentioning. First, FINRA’s Enforcement Department appealed the lower hearing panel’s adverse ruling to FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council (NAC), the body that typically hears appeals from Disciplinary Hearing Panel rulings. Yet, the Board of Governors,...
FINRA Reverses Hearing Panel in Schwab Enforcement Case: Class Action Waiver Violates FINRA Rules
May 14, 2014
In a stunning but hoped-for result (based on am amicus brief I co-authored in the case), FINRA’s Board of Governors reversed a disciplinary hearing panel decision in the FINRA v Schwab enforcement action. (See some of my previous blog posts on the subject, here, here and here.) That hearing panel had held, among other things, that Schwab’s class action waiver in its standard customer agreement’s pre-dispute arbitration clause violated FINRA rules but those rules could not be enforced...
May 14, 2014
In a stunning but hoped-for result (based on am amicus brief I co-authored in the case), FINRA’s Board of Governors reversed a disciplinary hearing panel decision in the FINRA v Schwab enforcement action. (See some of my previous blog posts on the subject, here, here and here.) That hearing panel had held, among other things, that Schwab’s class action waiver in its standard customer agreement’s pre-dispute arbitration clause violated FINRA rules but those rules could not be enforced...
