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Evolution of the Arbitration Forum as a Response to Mandatory Arbitration
September 29, 2017
Teresa J. Verges, Lecturer in Law and Director of the University of Miami School of Law Investor Rights Clinic, has published “Evolution of the Arbitration Forum as a Response to Mandatory Arbitration,” Nevada Law Journal, Forthcoming. In her journal article, Ms. Verges discusses potential changes to the arbitration process that may be merited due to the ongoing expansion of mandatory arbitration agreements. Here is the abstract: Decades of Supreme Court decisions elevating the Federal Arbitration Act...
September 29, 2017
Teresa J. Verges, Lecturer in Law and Director of the University of Miami School of Law Investor Rights Clinic, has published “Evolution of the Arbitration Forum as a Response to Mandatory Arbitration,” Nevada Law Journal, Forthcoming. In her journal article, Ms. Verges discusses potential changes to the arbitration process that may be merited due to the ongoing expansion of mandatory arbitration agreements. Here is the abstract: Decades of Supreme Court decisions elevating the Federal Arbitration Act...
JPMorgan Ordered to Pay More Than $4 Billion to Widow and Family
September 28, 2017
JPMorgan Chase & Co. was ordered by a Dallas jury to pay more than $4 billion in damages for mishandling the estate of a former American...
September 28, 2017
JPMorgan Chase & Co. was ordered by a Dallas jury to pay more than $4 billion in damages for mishandling the estate of a former American...
Fort Worth COA Rules Church Must Arbitrate Claims Against Roofing Materials Manufacturer
September 28, 2017
Texas’s Second District Court of Appeals in Fort Worth has overturned a trial court’s order denying a company’s motion to compel arbitration. In Dow Roofing Systems LLC v. Great Commission Baptist Church, et al., No. 02-16-00395-CV (August 3, 2017), a new church was built in Tarrant County, Texas in 2006. Prior to installing the church’s roof, the roofing contractor, Chamberlain, entered into an arbitration agreement with a roofing materials manufacturer authorizing the roofer to use the company’s...
September 28, 2017
Texas’s Second District Court of Appeals in Fort Worth has overturned a trial court’s order denying a company’s motion to compel arbitration. In Dow Roofing Systems LLC v. Great Commission Baptist Church, et al., No. 02-16-00395-CV (August 3, 2017), a new church was built in Tarrant County, Texas in 2006. Prior to installing the church’s roof, the roofing contractor, Chamberlain, entered into an arbitration agreement with a roofing materials manufacturer authorizing the roofer to use the company’s...
The Power of Silence
September 27, 2017
The inability of Americans to cope with gaps of silence makes it a powerful tool. As the article explains, the silence that occurs after one has finished speaking often causes the listener to feel uncomfortable. Rather than using the silence to reflect on what was said and to focus inward, the listener will feel quite awkward and an overpowering need to fill in the gap. In doing so, the listener will often make concessions or offer a compromise or make statements detrimental to her position. Thus,...
September 27, 2017
The inability of Americans to cope with gaps of silence makes it a powerful tool. As the article explains, the silence that occurs after one has finished speaking often causes the listener to feel uncomfortable. Rather than using the silence to reflect on what was said and to focus inward, the listener will feel quite awkward and an overpowering need to fill in the gap. In doing so, the listener will often make concessions or offer a compromise or make statements detrimental to her position. Thus,...
Fifth Circuit Affirms Order Stating Question of Arbitrability Was Delegated to the Arbitrator in $1.6 Billion Oil Lease Dispute
September 27, 2017
The nation’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a federal district court’s order stating a $1.6 billion fraud lawsuit must be arbitrated. In Brittania-U Nigeria, Ltd. v. Chevron USA Inc., et al., No.16-20690 (5th Cir., August 9, 2017), a Nigerian oil company, Brittania-U, signed a confidentiality agreement with Chevron as part of the bidding process related to the purchase of several oil leases. The confidentiality agreement contained an arbitration provision which stated any disputes...
September 27, 2017
The nation’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a federal district court’s order stating a $1.6 billion fraud lawsuit must be arbitrated. In Brittania-U Nigeria, Ltd. v. Chevron USA Inc., et al., No.16-20690 (5th Cir., August 9, 2017), a Nigerian oil company, Brittania-U, signed a confidentiality agreement with Chevron as part of the bidding process related to the purchase of several oil leases. The confidentiality agreement contained an arbitration provision which stated any disputes...
Confidentiality in Patent Dispute Resolution: Antitrust Implications
September 26, 2017
Professor Mark R. Patterson, Fordham University School of Law, has published “Confidentiality in Patent Dispute Resolution: Antitrust Implications,” Washington Law Review, Forthcoming; Fordham Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 3026369. In his journal article, Professor Patterson examines the relationship between confidentiality, arbitration, and antitrust laws in the context of patent disputes. Here is the abstract: Information is critical to the functioning of the patent system....
September 26, 2017
Professor Mark R. Patterson, Fordham University School of Law, has published “Confidentiality in Patent Dispute Resolution: Antitrust Implications,” Washington Law Review, Forthcoming; Fordham Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 3026369. In his journal article, Professor Patterson examines the relationship between confidentiality, arbitration, and antitrust laws in the context of patent disputes. Here is the abstract: Information is critical to the functioning of the patent system....
The Psychology and Neurobiology of Mediation
September 26, 2017
This article discusses the neurobiology of what is perhaps the most common problem in mediation: people take the conflict...
September 26, 2017
This article discusses the neurobiology of what is perhaps the most common problem in mediation: people take the conflict...
An Unappealing Interlocutory Appeal
September 25, 2017
In AMA Discount, Inc. v. Seneca Specialty Ins. Co., the Fifth Circuit rejected an interlocutory appeal on a question of bad faith claims handling under Louisiana insurance law, noting that a potentially conflicting district court decision had recently settled on appeal, and the parties actually disputed the application of law to fact rather than the controlling legal standard. The Court acknowledged that this ruling differed from that of a prior motions panel, but observed that at this stage, the case...
September 25, 2017
In AMA Discount, Inc. v. Seneca Specialty Ins. Co., the Fifth Circuit rejected an interlocutory appeal on a question of bad faith claims handling under Louisiana insurance law, noting that a potentially conflicting district court decision had recently settled on appeal, and the parties actually disputed the application of law to fact rather than the controlling legal standard. The Court acknowledged that this ruling differed from that of a prior motions panel, but observed that at this stage, the case...
Beyond ‘Managerial Judges’: Appropriate Roles in Settlement
September 25, 2017
Settlement is prevalent, and crucial to the functioning of the U.S. judicial system. But the pretrial regulatory framework in the courts is largely discretionary, and its emphasis on management does not fully take into account all the consequences of combining settlement with adjudication. The label “managerial judge” does not differentiate between the functions involved in managing a settlement process and the very different role of serving as a settlement neutral. By introducing this distinction,...
September 25, 2017
Settlement is prevalent, and crucial to the functioning of the U.S. judicial system. But the pretrial regulatory framework in the courts is largely discretionary, and its emphasis on management does not fully take into account all the consequences of combining settlement with adjudication. The label “managerial judge” does not differentiate between the functions involved in managing a settlement process and the very different role of serving as a settlement neutral. By introducing this distinction,...
How to Deal with A**holes
September 24, 2017
Anyone who has spent five minutes working in a law firm has undoubtedly made this observation: Lawyers are not little rays of sunshine. Quite the opposite. Often, they are difficult, unpleasant and nasty. Some are plain jerks. But Stanford University management professor Robert Sutton thinks calling horrible bosses "jerks" is being too generous. He prefers a more graphic term: "Assholes." Ten years ago, he wrote the definitive, go-to book on the subject: The No Asshole Rule, which passionately...
September 24, 2017
Anyone who has spent five minutes working in a law firm has undoubtedly made this observation: Lawyers are not little rays of sunshine. Quite the opposite. Often, they are difficult, unpleasant and nasty. Some are plain jerks. But Stanford University management professor Robert Sutton thinks calling horrible bosses "jerks" is being too generous. He prefers a more graphic term: "Assholes." Ten years ago, he wrote the definitive, go-to book on the subject: The No Asshole Rule, which passionately...
