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New Jersey Says Non-Payment Of Arbitration Fees is Breach of Agreement
April 13, 2017
The New Jersey Supreme Court refused to allow a respondent to benefit from its refusal to pay arbitration fees in Roach v. BM Motoring, LLC, 2017 WL 931430 (NJ March 9, 2017). First, Ms. Jackson filed a demand for arbitration against a New Jersey car dealership with the AAA. The parties’ arbitration agreement required the dealership to “advance both party’s [sic] filing, service, administration, arbitrator, hearing or other fees, subject to reimbursement by decision of the arbitrator.”...
April 13, 2017
The New Jersey Supreme Court refused to allow a respondent to benefit from its refusal to pay arbitration fees in Roach v. BM Motoring, LLC, 2017 WL 931430 (NJ March 9, 2017). First, Ms. Jackson filed a demand for arbitration against a New Jersey car dealership with the AAA. The parties’ arbitration agreement required the dealership to “advance both party’s [sic] filing, service, administration, arbitrator, hearing or other fees, subject to reimbursement by decision of the arbitrator.”...
9th Circuit Upholds Employer’s Dispute Resolution Agreement Banning Collective Action
April 13, 2017
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld an employer’s dispute resolution agreement despite that portions of the provision were unconscionable and it prohibited workers from engaging in collective action. In Poublon v. C.H. Robinson Co., No. 15-55143 (9th Cir. February 3, 2017), an account manager, Poublon, signed an Incentive Bonus Agreement that included a provision stating all work-related claims against her employer, C.H. Robinson Co., must be resolved through mediation followed by binding...
April 13, 2017
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld an employer’s dispute resolution agreement despite that portions of the provision were unconscionable and it prohibited workers from engaging in collective action. In Poublon v. C.H. Robinson Co., No. 15-55143 (9th Cir. February 3, 2017), an account manager, Poublon, signed an Incentive Bonus Agreement that included a provision stating all work-related claims against her employer, C.H. Robinson Co., must be resolved through mediation followed by binding...
Third Circuit Goes On Formation Tour — Issues Arbitration Decisions Favoring Prisoners and Pistachio Buyers
April 12, 2017
In the past week, the Third Circuit has issued two important decisions on the formation of arbitration agreements. (Sing it Beyoncé! “Okay ladies, now let’s get in formation.”) In one, a class action was allowed to proceed in court because the defendant did not obtain explicit enough agreement to the arbitration, and in another an arbitration award was initially vacated due to questions about whether there had been an arbitration agreement at all. In James v. Global Tellink Corp.,...
April 12, 2017
In the past week, the Third Circuit has issued two important decisions on the formation of arbitration agreements. (Sing it Beyoncé! “Okay ladies, now let’s get in formation.”) In one, a class action was allowed to proceed in court because the defendant did not obtain explicit enough agreement to the arbitration, and in another an arbitration award was initially vacated due to questions about whether there had been an arbitration agreement at all. In James v. Global Tellink Corp.,...
Ethics Rule Has Lit Funders Treading Carefully in Class Actions
April 12, 2017
The American Bar Association ban on fee-splitting, established as Model Rule 5.4(a), has been replicated in the codes for attorney conduct by state bars across the U.S. The rule dates back to the early 1900s, and most experts agree it was intended to prevent the kind of situation where a doctor refers an injured patient to a lawyer with the promise of receiving a portion of the lawyer's fee as a kickback. Ostensibly, it aims to keep lawyers from having their judgment compromised by outside financial...
April 12, 2017
The American Bar Association ban on fee-splitting, established as Model Rule 5.4(a), has been replicated in the codes for attorney conduct by state bars across the U.S. The rule dates back to the early 1900s, and most experts agree it was intended to prevent the kind of situation where a doctor refers an injured patient to a lawyer with the promise of receiving a portion of the lawyer's fee as a kickback. Ostensibly, it aims to keep lawyers from having their judgment compromised by outside financial...
The Three Phases of the Supreme Court’s Arbitration Jurisprudence
April 12, 2017
Martin H. Malin, Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for Law and the Workplace at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law, has published “The Three Phases of the Supreme Court’s Arbitration Jurisprudence: Empowering the Already-Empowered,” Nevada Law Journal, Vol. 17, 2016. In his journal article, Professor Malin provides his take on the evolution of United States Supreme Court arbitration jurisprudence since the Federal Arbitration Act was adopted. Here...
April 12, 2017
Martin H. Malin, Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for Law and the Workplace at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law, has published “The Three Phases of the Supreme Court’s Arbitration Jurisprudence: Empowering the Already-Empowered,” Nevada Law Journal, Vol. 17, 2016. In his journal article, Professor Malin provides his take on the evolution of United States Supreme Court arbitration jurisprudence since the Federal Arbitration Act was adopted. Here...
When Is Ignorance Bliss?
April 11, 2017
A new paper in Psychological Review by Gerd Gigerenzer and Rocio Garcia-Retamero explores the motives of our willful ignorance....
April 11, 2017
A new paper in Psychological Review by Gerd Gigerenzer and Rocio Garcia-Retamero explores the motives of our willful ignorance....
Texas: Vacatur Based Upon Arbitrator’s “Fraudulent Non-Disclosure of Information”
April 11, 2017
In Builders First Source-South Texas LP v. Ortiz, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals addressed the consequences of an arbitrator’s “fraudulent non-disclosure of information.” The Court appears to be the first appellate court in Texas to adopt the phrase “fraudulent non-disclosure” in addressing vacatur of an arbitrator’s ruling because of the following circumstances. An individual employed by a company that was a non-subscriber to Texas workers compensation laws signed an agreement...
April 11, 2017
In Builders First Source-South Texas LP v. Ortiz, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals addressed the consequences of an arbitrator’s “fraudulent non-disclosure of information.” The Court appears to be the first appellate court in Texas to adopt the phrase “fraudulent non-disclosure” in addressing vacatur of an arbitrator’s ruling because of the following circumstances. An individual employed by a company that was a non-subscriber to Texas workers compensation laws signed an agreement...
Arbitration About Arbitration
April 11, 2017
David Horton, Professor of Law and Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of California, Davis, School of Law, has written an interesting journal article titled “Arbitration About Arbitration,” Stanford Law Review, Vol. 70, (2017), Forthcoming. In his publication, Professor Horton examines the effect of delegation clauses in arbitration agreements. Here is the abstract: Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) has nearly eliminated...
April 11, 2017
David Horton, Professor of Law and Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of California, Davis, School of Law, has written an interesting journal article titled “Arbitration About Arbitration,” Stanford Law Review, Vol. 70, (2017), Forthcoming. In his publication, Professor Horton examines the effect of delegation clauses in arbitration agreements. Here is the abstract: Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) has nearly eliminated...
Higher Working Memory Ability;More Brain Freeze
April 10, 2017
Some fortunate people have more “working memory” than others. It’s as if they have an extra pair of hands available for mental juggling; extremely useful for doing arithmetic and similar tasks in your head. These folk with abundant working memory capacity also tend to fare well academically and in their careers. Little surprise that “brain training” games like Lumosity and Cogmed target working memory in pursuit of these knock-on benefits (though the evidence that the training brings such...
April 10, 2017
Some fortunate people have more “working memory” than others. It’s as if they have an extra pair of hands available for mental juggling; extremely useful for doing arithmetic and similar tasks in your head. These folk with abundant working memory capacity also tend to fare well academically and in their careers. Little surprise that “brain training” games like Lumosity and Cogmed target working memory in pursuit of these knock-on benefits (though the evidence that the training brings such...
Federal Judge Denies Class Arbitration Request in Legal Data Security Case
April 10, 2017
An Illinois federal judge has ruled that client data security claims filed against a Chicago-based law firm must be decided through individual arbitration. In Shore et al. v. Johnson & Bell, Ltd., No. 1:16-CV-04363 (N.D. Ill), plaintiffs’ attorney Jay Edelson sought to engage in class-action litigation against Johnson & Bell, a law firm Edelson claims failed to adequately protect its client data. Although no actual client data breach is alleged in the case, Edelson claims Johnson &...
April 10, 2017
An Illinois federal judge has ruled that client data security claims filed against a Chicago-based law firm must be decided through individual arbitration. In Shore et al. v. Johnson & Bell, Ltd., No. 1:16-CV-04363 (N.D. Ill), plaintiffs’ attorney Jay Edelson sought to engage in class-action litigation against Johnson & Bell, a law firm Edelson claims failed to adequately protect its client data. Although no actual client data breach is alleged in the case, Edelson claims Johnson &...
