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Lawyers Fear Ruling Moves Med Mal to Arbitration
April 10, 2015
The prospect of moving medical malpractice litigation away from Texas state district courts and into arbitration is a frightening prospect for some plaintiff and defense lawyers alike. Plaintiff lawyers fear the unseemly prospect of health care providers requiring patients to give up the right to a trial by jury before receiving treatment. And defense attorneys worry doctors could give up far too much in the way of their appellate rights if an arbitrator misapplies the state tort reform laws designed...
April 10, 2015
The prospect of moving medical malpractice litigation away from Texas state district courts and into arbitration is a frightening prospect for some plaintiff and defense lawyers alike. Plaintiff lawyers fear the unseemly prospect of health care providers requiring patients to give up the right to a trial by jury before receiving treatment. And defense attorneys worry doctors could give up far too much in the way of their appellate rights if an arbitrator misapplies the state tort reform laws designed...
Skadden Class Action Chronicle
April 10, 2015
Skadden has posted its spring 2015 Class Action Chronicle. As we have noted in previous editions of the Chronicle, a number...
April 10, 2015
Skadden has posted its spring 2015 Class Action Chronicle. As we have noted in previous editions of the Chronicle, a number...
What Use Are Flashbulb Memories?
April 9, 2015
Overall, it was those flashbulb memories that participants said were most significant to them (usually their memories of receiving private news), that were associated with more functions, such as for self-identity and bonding with other people. In contrast, the self-reported detail of memories was not associated with their having more function. "This suggests," the researchers said, "that the functions of flashbulb memories are less about the shared societal reality and more about highly individual...
April 9, 2015
Overall, it was those flashbulb memories that participants said were most significant to them (usually their memories of receiving private news), that were associated with more functions, such as for self-identity and bonding with other people. In contrast, the self-reported detail of memories was not associated with their having more function. "This suggests," the researchers said, "that the functions of flashbulb memories are less about the shared societal reality and more about highly individual...
Consumer Bureau Targets Mandatory Arbitration Clauses
April 9, 2015
Financial companies routinely use mandatory arbitration to block class-action lawsuits, making it difficult for consumers...
April 9, 2015
Financial companies routinely use mandatory arbitration to block class-action lawsuits, making it difficult for consumers...
Lex Machina Releases 2014 Patent Litigation Year in Review Report
April 9, 2015
Lex Machina, pioneer of Legal Analytics®, released its second annual Patent Litigation Year in Review report today, providing...
April 9, 2015
Lex Machina, pioneer of Legal Analytics®, released its second annual Patent Litigation Year in Review report today, providing...
Memory: People are Hopeless at Drawing the Apple Logo
April 8, 2015
Apple's iconic apple, featuring a bitten-off chunk, is one of the most recognisable logos in the world. And with the company's ubiquitous products increasing in popularity, we're exposed to the famous fruit image more frequently than ever. Yet a new study finds that while all this exposure provokes confidence in our memories for the logo, it fails to translate into accurate recall. Before reading on, test your own memory. Adam Blake and his colleagues asked 85 undergrads – a mix of Apple and PC users...
April 8, 2015
Apple's iconic apple, featuring a bitten-off chunk, is one of the most recognisable logos in the world. And with the company's ubiquitous products increasing in popularity, we're exposed to the famous fruit image more frequently than ever. Yet a new study finds that while all this exposure provokes confidence in our memories for the logo, it fails to translate into accurate recall. Before reading on, test your own memory. Adam Blake and his colleagues asked 85 undergrads – a mix of Apple and PC users...
Lemley & Leslie on Antitrust Arbitration
April 8, 2015
Mark A. Lemley and Christopher R. Leslie (Stanford Law School and University of California, Irvine School of Law) have posted...
April 8, 2015
Mark A. Lemley and Christopher R. Leslie (Stanford Law School and University of California, Irvine School of Law) have posted...
SCOTUS Requests Response to Cert Petition in Texas Party-Appointed Arbitrator Qualification Case
April 8, 2015
On June 20, 2014 the Texas Supreme Court held in Americo Life, Inc. v. Myer, 440 S.W.3d 18 (Tex. 2014), that an arbitration award had to be vacated because it was made by a panel not constituted according to the parties’ agreement. The parties’ agreement, among other things, incorporated the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”)’s rules, which at the time the parties entered into the contract followed the traditional, industry arbitration principle that party-appointed arbitrators...
April 8, 2015
On June 20, 2014 the Texas Supreme Court held in Americo Life, Inc. v. Myer, 440 S.W.3d 18 (Tex. 2014), that an arbitration award had to be vacated because it was made by a panel not constituted according to the parties’ agreement. The parties’ agreement, among other things, incorporated the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”)’s rules, which at the time the parties entered into the contract followed the traditional, industry arbitration principle that party-appointed arbitrators...
Psychologists Use Magic to Study the Illusory Feeling of Free Choice
April 7, 2015
Most of the time, when a magician asks you to "pick a card" she makes it feel as though you have a free choice, but you don't really. The authors of a new paper say this is a microcosm for many real-life situations in which we feel free to choose, but in fact our choices are heavily influenced and constrained. Jay Olson, a magician and psychologist, and his colleagues, have put a classic card trick technique under the spotlight as a way to study the psychology behind this experience of illusory free...
April 7, 2015
Most of the time, when a magician asks you to "pick a card" she makes it feel as though you have a free choice, but you don't really. The authors of a new paper say this is a microcosm for many real-life situations in which we feel free to choose, but in fact our choices are heavily influenced and constrained. Jay Olson, a magician and psychologist, and his colleagues, have put a classic card trick technique under the spotlight as a way to study the psychology behind this experience of illusory free...
Marvel-Kirby Dispute Settles on Eve of SCOTUS Conference
April 7, 2015
On September 26, 2014, Marvel Entertainment and the Jack Kirby estate reached a settlement ending their longstanding dispute over the rights to Kirby-created characters and concepts, just days before a U.S. Supreme Court conference was scheduled to discuss whether the nine justices would hear the case. See Vaneta Rogers, “Jack Kirby Estate and Marvel Announce Settlement,” Newsarama (Sept. 26, 2014). Jack Kirby (1917–1994) was a legendary comic book artist and writer who was heavily involved...
April 7, 2015
On September 26, 2014, Marvel Entertainment and the Jack Kirby estate reached a settlement ending their longstanding dispute over the rights to Kirby-created characters and concepts, just days before a U.S. Supreme Court conference was scheduled to discuss whether the nine justices would hear the case. See Vaneta Rogers, “Jack Kirby Estate and Marvel Announce Settlement,” Newsarama (Sept. 26, 2014). Jack Kirby (1917–1994) was a legendary comic book artist and writer who was heavily involved...
