Menu
Blog Archives
I Have to Arbitrate, You Have to Arbitrate
January 6, 2016
A general contractor began an arbitration against several subcontractors about problems with the Sea Breeze Condominiums and Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi. One of the subcontractors resisted the arbitration demand; while it won in district court, the Fifth Circuit reversed, based on this contract language: “If the Contractor has a claim or dispute involving the same general subject matter, either in whole or in part, with any third party if elected by the Contractor, the Subcontractor shall assert...
January 6, 2016
A general contractor began an arbitration against several subcontractors about problems with the Sea Breeze Condominiums and Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi. One of the subcontractors resisted the arbitration demand; while it won in district court, the Fifth Circuit reversed, based on this contract language: “If the Contractor has a claim or dispute involving the same general subject matter, either in whole or in part, with any third party if elected by the Contractor, the Subcontractor shall assert...
Cyber Litigation: The Next Big Thing?
January 6, 2016
It was the scandal of the summer: AshleyMadison.com, the dating and social networking service that markets itself to would-be cheaters, was cyberattacked, and the names and contact information of purported members—including celebrities, congressional staffers and evangelists—were revealed online. Soon after, plaintiffs lawyers lodged class action litigation on behalf of website users. The chain of events—a high-profile data hack, followed by proposed consumer class actions—was a familiar...
January 6, 2016
It was the scandal of the summer: AshleyMadison.com, the dating and social networking service that markets itself to would-be cheaters, was cyberattacked, and the names and contact information of purported members—including celebrities, congressional staffers and evangelists—were revealed online. Soon after, plaintiffs lawyers lodged class action litigation on behalf of website users. The chain of events—a high-profile data hack, followed by proposed consumer class actions—was a familiar...
Mark Zuckerberg to Build Robot Butler
January 5, 2016
Mark Zuckerberg intends to build a robot to look after his house and keep tabs on his newborn daughter. The Facebook founder and CEO’s resolution for 2016 is to build an artificially intelligent system that will be able to control his house, watch over his child and help him to run Facebook. Mr Zuckerberg has in the past taken on “personal challenges” that have included reading two books per month, learning Mandarin and meeting a new person each day. But now he has undertaken perhaps...
January 5, 2016
Mark Zuckerberg intends to build a robot to look after his house and keep tabs on his newborn daughter. The Facebook founder and CEO’s resolution for 2016 is to build an artificially intelligent system that will be able to control his house, watch over his child and help him to run Facebook. Mr Zuckerberg has in the past taken on “personal challenges” that have included reading two books per month, learning Mandarin and meeting a new person each day. But now he has undertaken perhaps...
Can Lawyers Get Smarter by Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
January 5, 2016
Since I first learned about AI more than 40 years ago I was hoping that AI would help improve society, and when in studying...
January 5, 2016
Since I first learned about AI more than 40 years ago I was hoping that AI would help improve society, and when in studying...
Beyond the Outer Bound of Arbitrability Theories . . .
January 5, 2016
In USHealth Group v. South, applying Texas law, the Fifth Circuit rejected the use of “concerted misconduct estoppel” to compel arbitration against a nonsignatory (citing In re: Merrill Lynch Trust Co. FSB, 235 S.W.3d 185 (Tex. 2007)), and also found no basis for “direct benefits estoppel” because the claims did not arise solely from the contracts with the arbitration clause, and the issues in dispute could be resolved without reference to those contracts (citing In re: Weekley Homes, L.P.,...
January 5, 2016
In USHealth Group v. South, applying Texas law, the Fifth Circuit rejected the use of “concerted misconduct estoppel” to compel arbitration against a nonsignatory (citing In re: Merrill Lynch Trust Co. FSB, 235 S.W.3d 185 (Tex. 2007)), and also found no basis for “direct benefits estoppel” because the claims did not arise solely from the contracts with the arbitration clause, and the issues in dispute could be resolved without reference to those contracts (citing In re: Weekley Homes, L.P.,...
Google Getting Serious About Plan to Wire US with Superfast Internet
January 4, 2016
It looks like Google is getting more serious about Google Fiber, its plan to bring fast fiber-optic internet connections to the US. * * * Google Fiber is technically no longer part of Google, but was spun off into a separate company within Alphabet, the new larger holding company that includes Google's core online, advertising, and Android businesses — still called Google — plus newer "moonshot" projects like self-driving cars. The fact that Alphabet sees the need for a dedicated policy...
January 4, 2016
It looks like Google is getting more serious about Google Fiber, its plan to bring fast fiber-optic internet connections to the US. * * * Google Fiber is technically no longer part of Google, but was spun off into a separate company within Alphabet, the new larger holding company that includes Google's core online, advertising, and Android businesses — still called Google — plus newer "moonshot" projects like self-driving cars. The fact that Alphabet sees the need for a dedicated policy...
Why GM’s Investment in Lyft is Such a Big Deal
January 4, 2016
For years, scientists have dreamed of an efficient future where instead of owning your own car, you'll be able to call up a smart vehicle to your location, have it drive you to your destination, then allow it to continue on its way and pick up another passenger. The whole idea revolves around a gigantic network of driverless cars that serves millions of people on demand, minimizing waste in time and resources. Now, General Motors wants to make that future a reality — by investing half a billion...
January 4, 2016
For years, scientists have dreamed of an efficient future where instead of owning your own car, you'll be able to call up a smart vehicle to your location, have it drive you to your destination, then allow it to continue on its way and pick up another passenger. The whole idea revolves around a gigantic network of driverless cars that serves millions of people on demand, minimizing waste in time and resources. Now, General Motors wants to make that future a reality — by investing half a billion...
Separate Actions ≠ Mass Action
January 4, 2016
Defendants sought to remove several cases under the “mass action” provisions of CAFA, arguing: “the fact that plaintiffs’...
January 4, 2016
Defendants sought to remove several cases under the “mass action” provisions of CAFA, arguing: “the fact that plaintiffs’...
Universities Race to Nurture Start-Up Founders of the Future
January 3, 2016
The original charter of Rice University, drafted in 1891, established a school here dedicated to the advancement of literature, science and art. These days, Rice seems equally dedicated to the advancement of the next Mark Zuckerberg. The university offers academic courses in entrepreneurship strategy and financing, extracurricular start-up workshops and a summer program for students seeking to start companies. In August, Rice announced a multimillion-dollar “entrepreneurship initiative” to develop...
January 3, 2016
The original charter of Rice University, drafted in 1891, established a school here dedicated to the advancement of literature, science and art. These days, Rice seems equally dedicated to the advancement of the next Mark Zuckerberg. The university offers academic courses in entrepreneurship strategy and financing, extracurricular start-up workshops and a summer program for students seeking to start companies. In August, Rice announced a multimillion-dollar “entrepreneurship initiative” to develop...
The 10 Most Important Legal Technology Developments of 2015
January 3, 2016
What have been 2015’s most important developments in legal technology? For the past two years, I’ve posted my picks of the top developments in legal tech (2014, 2013). With another year under our belts, it’s time to look back at 2015. 1. Case Law Gets Democratized. 2. Analytics Take Center Stage. The second-biggest legal technology story of 2015 was the acquisition of Lex Machina by LexisNexis. It was a significant deal in itself, but even more so for what it signals about the direction...
January 3, 2016
What have been 2015’s most important developments in legal technology? For the past two years, I’ve posted my picks of the top developments in legal tech (2014, 2013). With another year under our belts, it’s time to look back at 2015. 1. Case Law Gets Democratized. 2. Analytics Take Center Stage. The second-biggest legal technology story of 2015 was the acquisition of Lex Machina by LexisNexis. It was a significant deal in itself, but even more so for what it signals about the direction...
