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Tait: “Corporate Family Law”
October 13, 2017
Allison Anna Tait (Richmond) recently published Corporate Family Law, Northwestern University Law Review, Vol. 112, No. 1 (2017). Here is the abstract: There is no such thing as corporate family law. But there are corporate families, and corporate families fight. What happens when corporate family members fight and the conflict is so severe that one or more of the parties wants out of the corporate relationship? Corporate law provides some solutions, but they are shaped by the assumption that...
October 13, 2017
Allison Anna Tait (Richmond) recently published Corporate Family Law, Northwestern University Law Review, Vol. 112, No. 1 (2017). Here is the abstract: There is no such thing as corporate family law. But there are corporate families, and corporate families fight. What happens when corporate family members fight and the conflict is so severe that one or more of the parties wants out of the corporate relationship? Corporate law provides some solutions, but they are shaped by the assumption that...
Negotiation Via Videoconferencing
October 13, 2017
Professor Noam Ebner, Creighton University School of Law, has written a book chapter titled, “Negotiation Via Videoconferencing,” in Honeyman, C. & Schneider, A.K. (eds.) The Negotiator’s Desk Reference. St Paul: DRI Press, Forthcoming. In his book chapter, Professor Ebner examines a variety of considerations related to engaging in negotiations using video conferencing technology. Here is the abstract: This chapter addresses a tool which has crept up on negotiators. Videoconferencing...
October 13, 2017
Professor Noam Ebner, Creighton University School of Law, has written a book chapter titled, “Negotiation Via Videoconferencing,” in Honeyman, C. & Schneider, A.K. (eds.) The Negotiator’s Desk Reference. St Paul: DRI Press, Forthcoming. In his book chapter, Professor Ebner examines a variety of considerations related to engaging in negotiations using video conferencing technology. Here is the abstract: This chapter addresses a tool which has crept up on negotiators. Videoconferencing...
Does an insurer’s delay for an appraisal create a Prompt Payment problem?
October 12, 2017
In Mainali v. Covington Specialty Ins. Co., the Fifth Circuit addressed “whether a payment made to comply with an appraisal award, which in most if not all cases is going to be paid after the 60-day window [set by the Texas Prompt Payment statute], is subject to [a statutory] penalty.” In an Erie analysis, the Court followed intermediate Texas authority that held such a payment was not subject to those statutory penalties, observing: “Covington was not trying to avoid payment of the claim;...
October 12, 2017
In Mainali v. Covington Specialty Ins. Co., the Fifth Circuit addressed “whether a payment made to comply with an appraisal award, which in most if not all cases is going to be paid after the 60-day window [set by the Texas Prompt Payment statute], is subject to [a statutory] penalty.” In an Erie analysis, the Court followed intermediate Texas authority that held such a payment was not subject to those statutory penalties, observing: “Covington was not trying to avoid payment of the claim;...
Have a Better Conversation
October 12, 2017
Though it’s called “small talk” there’s nothing small about it when it comes to a negotiation or mediation (or any other situation where you’re trying to build rapport). If you’re going to have a meaningful conversation with someone you don’t know, or don’t know very well, small talk is a way to start building that bridge to the other party. Only after that bridge is built can the parties reach out to each other and resolve a dispute between them. The Muse has a number...
October 12, 2017
Though it’s called “small talk” there’s nothing small about it when it comes to a negotiation or mediation (or any other situation where you’re trying to build rapport). If you’re going to have a meaningful conversation with someone you don’t know, or don’t know very well, small talk is a way to start building that bridge to the other party. Only after that bridge is built can the parties reach out to each other and resolve a dispute between them. The Muse has a number...
Conduct Slides Dispute into Arbitration
October 11, 2017
The parties in IQ Products Co. v. WD-40 Co. disputed whether an arbitration agreement was limited to “propane/butane-propelled products” or also “carbon dioxide-propelled products.” The party who prevailed in the arbitration relied mainly on the parties’ subsequent conduct to justify the broader reading, and the Fifth Circuit agreed (applying California law): “Considering . . . ‘the words used . . . as well as extrinsic evidence of such objective matters and the surrounding circumstances...
October 11, 2017
The parties in IQ Products Co. v. WD-40 Co. disputed whether an arbitration agreement was limited to “propane/butane-propelled products” or also “carbon dioxide-propelled products.” The party who prevailed in the arbitration relied mainly on the parties’ subsequent conduct to justify the broader reading, and the Fifth Circuit agreed (applying California law): “Considering . . . ‘the words used . . . as well as extrinsic evidence of such objective matters and the surrounding circumstances...
Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction After Arbitrator Upholds Suspension of Dallas Cowboys Player
October 11, 2017
Last week, the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction over a National Football League (“NFL”) player’s six-game suspension. In the case, the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, suspended a Dallas Cowboys player, Ezekiel Elliott, after Elliott was accused of committing domestic violence against his former partner despite that Elliott was not arrested or charged with a crime by police. Instead, Goodell relied on an independent NFL investigation when he issued the suspension. In...
October 11, 2017
Last week, the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction over a National Football League (“NFL”) player’s six-game suspension. In the case, the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, suspended a Dallas Cowboys player, Ezekiel Elliott, after Elliott was accused of committing domestic violence against his former partner despite that Elliott was not arrested or charged with a crime by police. Instead, Goodell relied on an independent NFL investigation when he issued the suspension. In...
Rooker-Feldman and Foreclosure
October 10, 2017
After removing a dispute about a home equity loan foreclosure, Deutsche Bank argued that a state court order that had vacated an earlier order allowing the foreclosure was invalid. The homeowner argued that review was precluded by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine; the Fifth Circuit disagreed. The doctrine did not apply because (1) the “vacating order” was not final under Texas law, and (2) was void under Texas law because the state court had no authority to enter it under the specific state rules...
October 10, 2017
After removing a dispute about a home equity loan foreclosure, Deutsche Bank argued that a state court order that had vacated an earlier order allowing the foreclosure was invalid. The homeowner argued that review was precluded by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine; the Fifth Circuit disagreed. The doctrine did not apply because (1) the “vacating order” was not final under Texas law, and (2) was void under Texas law because the state court had no authority to enter it under the specific state rules...
Who’s Who Legal: Mediation Analysis 2017
October 10, 2017
The seventh edition of Who’s Who Legal: Mediation features 381 practitioners from 299 firms across 53 countries who have...
October 10, 2017
The seventh edition of Who’s Who Legal: Mediation features 381 practitioners from 299 firms across 53 countries who have...
Richard Thaler Wins Nobel for Work in Behavioral Economics
October 9, 2017
The Nobel prize in economics has been awarded to Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago for research showing how people's choices on economic matters — whether on savings or game shows like "Deal or No Deal" — are not always rational. The 9-million-kronor ($1.1-million) prize was awarded to the academic for his "understanding the psychology of economics," Swedish Academy of Sciences secretary Goran Hansson said Monday. Thaler is considered one of the founding fathers...
October 9, 2017
The Nobel prize in economics has been awarded to Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago for research showing how people's choices on economic matters — whether on savings or game shows like "Deal or No Deal" — are not always rational. The 9-million-kronor ($1.1-million) prize was awarded to the academic for his "understanding the psychology of economics," Swedish Academy of Sciences secretary Goran Hansson said Monday. Thaler is considered one of the founding fathers...
Supreme Court Grants Cert in Two Labor & Employment Cases
October 9, 2017
Today, the Supreme Court agreed to hear two workplace-related cases--both involving issues that are repeat customers. In Janus v. ASFCME, the Court will take another stab at declaring that the First Amendment bars requiring public-sector employees from paying dues for union representation. (You can see here and here for our past coverage of the Friedrichs case). I'll go out on a very steady limb here and say that the Court will hold 5-4 in favor of the dissenting union-represented employees. Also,...
October 9, 2017
Today, the Supreme Court agreed to hear two workplace-related cases--both involving issues that are repeat customers. In Janus v. ASFCME, the Court will take another stab at declaring that the First Amendment bars requiring public-sector employees from paying dues for union representation. (You can see here and here for our past coverage of the Friedrichs case). I'll go out on a very steady limb here and say that the Court will hold 5-4 in favor of the dissenting union-represented employees. Also,...
