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3 Year-End Arbitration Lessons From Appellate Courts
January 19, 2016
Before I can sum up 2015 in arbitration (next post!), I need to report on some new cases coming out of the federal and state appellate courts in recent weeks. Two are just good reminders of basic arbitration law, but the third addresses an interesting question of double recovery. Our first “reminder” case comes from New York’s highest court. In Cusimano v. Schnurr, 2015 WL 8787554 (N.Y. Dec. 16, 2015), that court held that the Federal Arbitration Act applies, even to intrafamily transactions...
January 19, 2016
Before I can sum up 2015 in arbitration (next post!), I need to report on some new cases coming out of the federal and state appellate courts in recent weeks. Two are just good reminders of basic arbitration law, but the third addresses an interesting question of double recovery. Our first “reminder” case comes from New York’s highest court. In Cusimano v. Schnurr, 2015 WL 8787554 (N.Y. Dec. 16, 2015), that court held that the Federal Arbitration Act applies, even to intrafamily transactions...
Inaccurate Translation Invalidates Arbitration Agreement
January 19, 2016
The Jackson|Lewis California Workplace Law Blog reports on a decision from the California Court of Appeal that held an automobile dealership that translated a sales contract into Spanish, but did not include the arbitration agreement in the translation, could not enforce the agreement. According to the decision, despite signing the English version of the contract (that did contain an arbitration provision), under California law, the arbitration agreement was not enforceable because (1) Spanish was the primary...
January 19, 2016
The Jackson|Lewis California Workplace Law Blog reports on a decision from the California Court of Appeal that held an automobile dealership that translated a sales contract into Spanish, but did not include the arbitration agreement in the translation, could not enforce the agreement. According to the decision, despite signing the English version of the contract (that did contain an arbitration provision), under California law, the arbitration agreement was not enforceable because (1) Spanish was the primary...
Szalai: DirecTV v. Imburgia Turns Arbitration Law On Its Head
January 18, 2016
Arbitration guru Imre Szalai (Loyola) provides us with his thoughts on the Supreme Court’s recent DirecTV case. Naturally Imre kicked off the listserv thread Jill mentioned yesterday. And here’s a link to Imre’s arbitration blog for further info on the case. Earlier today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in DirecTV v Imburgia. Three issues struck me after reading the decision: 1) a majority of the Justices re-affirmed (and in my mind, expanded) the broad preemptive powers of the FAA and lost...
January 18, 2016
Arbitration guru Imre Szalai (Loyola) provides us with his thoughts on the Supreme Court’s recent DirecTV case. Naturally Imre kicked off the listserv thread Jill mentioned yesterday. And here’s a link to Imre’s arbitration blog for further info on the case. Earlier today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in DirecTV v Imburgia. Three issues struck me after reading the decision: 1) a majority of the Justices re-affirmed (and in my mind, expanded) the broad preemptive powers of the FAA and lost...
More on DirectTV v. Imburgia
January 18, 2016
DIRECTV v. Imburgia involved an arbitration clause with a class action waiver in the satellite television service provider’s customer agreement. The clause at issue provided that the entire arbitration provision would not be enforceable if the “law of your state” makes the class action waiver unenforceable. Since California’s Discover Bank rule deemed unconscionable class action waivers in adhesive consumer services agreements with pre-dispute arbitration clauses, the California court...
January 18, 2016
DIRECTV v. Imburgia involved an arbitration clause with a class action waiver in the satellite television service provider’s customer agreement. The clause at issue provided that the entire arbitration provision would not be enforceable if the “law of your state” makes the class action waiver unenforceable. Since California’s Discover Bank rule deemed unconscionable class action waivers in adhesive consumer services agreements with pre-dispute arbitration clauses, the California court...
SCOTUS Hands Down DirecTV v. Imburgia Opinion
January 18, 2016
Today the Supreme Court handed down its opinion in DirecTV v. Imburgia today. No surprises here – the FAA acts as glue when there is an arbitration clause in a contract. Maybe most surprising in Justice Breyer’s opinion is the “and we mean it” exhortation to the lower courts. In an ironic twist, this finger-wagging to the CA Supreme Court is reminiscent of that court’s finger-wagging to California’s lower courts about mediation confidentiality.
January 18, 2016
Today the Supreme Court handed down its opinion in DirecTV v. Imburgia today. No surprises here – the FAA acts as glue when there is an arbitration clause in a contract. Maybe most surprising in Justice Breyer’s opinion is the “and we mean it” exhortation to the lower courts. In an ironic twist, this finger-wagging to the CA Supreme Court is reminiscent of that court’s finger-wagging to California’s lower courts about mediation confidentiality.
Apple Dives Deeper Into Artificial Intelligence By Acquiring Emotient
January 17, 2016
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Apple has acquired Emotient, an artificial intelligence startup. The company confirmed the move to the WSJ. The San Diego-based company was founded in 2012 and has raised $8M from investors like Intel Capital and Seth Neiman, and had been tinkering around with products like Google Glass and other wearables. Most recently the company was working with advertisers on how to bake in reaction analysis into their advertising according to the WSJ.
January 17, 2016
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Apple has acquired Emotient, an artificial intelligence startup. The company confirmed the move to the WSJ. The San Diego-based company was founded in 2012 and has raised $8M from investors like Intel Capital and Seth Neiman, and had been tinkering around with products like Google Glass and other wearables. Most recently the company was working with advertisers on how to bake in reaction analysis into their advertising according to the WSJ.
Wi-Fi Alliance Approves New 900MHz Standard
January 17, 2016
A new low-power, long-range version of Wi-Fi that bolsters Internet of Things (IoT) connections will be dubbed Wi-Fi HaLow,...
January 17, 2016
A new low-power, long-range version of Wi-Fi that bolsters Internet of Things (IoT) connections will be dubbed Wi-Fi HaLow,...
More Than 180,000 Drones Registered in 2 Weeks
January 17, 2016
One of the most important players in the booming drone industry isn’t a hardware manufacturer; it’s the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. So attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday flocked to hear a policy update from the FAA, which has begun to regulate drone use more aggressively. In the two weeks or so since the agency started requiring hobbyists to register drones larger than 0.55 pounds, 181,061 drones had been registered as of Wednesday morning, said FAA Administrator...
January 17, 2016
One of the most important players in the booming drone industry isn’t a hardware manufacturer; it’s the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. So attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday flocked to hear a policy update from the FAA, which has begun to regulate drone use more aggressively. In the two weeks or so since the agency started requiring hobbyists to register drones larger than 0.55 pounds, 181,061 drones had been registered as of Wednesday morning, said FAA Administrator...
Analytics Startup Tracxn Collates Data on New and Emerging Firms
January 16, 2016
Tracxn, a company that tracks and analyzes data about startups, has added entrepreneur Ratan Tata as an angel investor. Though the amount of new funding was undisclosed, Tata’s contribution is noteworthy because he is one of India’s most renowned businessmen. The former chairman of conglomerate Tata Group, Tata began investing in tech startups last year. His portfolio now includes Snapdeal, One97 Communications, Xiaomi, and Ola Cabs. Launched in 2013, Tracxn’s other investors include SAIF...
January 16, 2016
Tracxn, a company that tracks and analyzes data about startups, has added entrepreneur Ratan Tata as an angel investor. Though the amount of new funding was undisclosed, Tata’s contribution is noteworthy because he is one of India’s most renowned businessmen. The former chairman of conglomerate Tata Group, Tata began investing in tech startups last year. His portfolio now includes Snapdeal, One97 Communications, Xiaomi, and Ola Cabs. Launched in 2013, Tracxn’s other investors include SAIF...
Medical Data Analytics: Flatiron Health Aggregates Cancer Data
January 16, 2016
Even with some recent wobbles in the start-up world, big sums are continuing to roll into technology start-ups. Just a few days into 2016, Flatiron Health, a start-up that gathers and analyzes data on cancer treatments and sells software based on those insights, said it had raised $175 million in a funding round led by the pharmaceutical giant Roche. Flatiron declined to disclose its valuation. As part of the deal, Flatiron gets more than money. Roche will buy several of Flatiron’s software...
January 16, 2016
Even with some recent wobbles in the start-up world, big sums are continuing to roll into technology start-ups. Just a few days into 2016, Flatiron Health, a start-up that gathers and analyzes data on cancer treatments and sells software based on those insights, said it had raised $175 million in a funding round led by the pharmaceutical giant Roche. Flatiron declined to disclose its valuation. As part of the deal, Flatiron gets more than money. Roche will buy several of Flatiron’s software...
