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Sirius XM Faces Class Action Because Arbitration Agreement Provided Late Is Invalid
December 9, 2014
A few months ago, the Ninth Circuit found that the arbitration agreement in Barnes & Noble’s website was not enforceable. This week, the Ninth Circuit found that the arbitration agreement Sirius XM Radio relied upon was not enforceable because the user did not know he had any agreement with Sirius XM, let alone an arbitration agreement. Knutson v. Sirius XM Radio Inc., __ F.3d__, 2014 WL 5802284 (9th Cir. Nov. 10, 2014). The plaintiff in this case purchased a Toyota truck. The truck came...
December 9, 2014
A few months ago, the Ninth Circuit found that the arbitration agreement in Barnes & Noble’s website was not enforceable. This week, the Ninth Circuit found that the arbitration agreement Sirius XM Radio relied upon was not enforceable because the user did not know he had any agreement with Sirius XM, let alone an arbitration agreement. Knutson v. Sirius XM Radio Inc., __ F.3d__, 2014 WL 5802284 (9th Cir. Nov. 10, 2014). The plaintiff in this case purchased a Toyota truck. The truck came...
Agreements to Arbitrate, Redux
December 8, 2014
Following up on a prior post, two recent cases have tested the enforceability of “agreements” that one party unilaterally propounded and the other party had no idea existed. Though the Ninth Circuit found both to be non-binding, the logic in both cases implies that knowing consent — an element of contract law that is emphasized in law school as fundamental — seems no longer to be a requirement in “agreeing” to arbitrate future disputes. In Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble, (CTA 9 August...
December 8, 2014
Following up on a prior post, two recent cases have tested the enforceability of “agreements” that one party unilaterally propounded and the other party had no idea existed. Though the Ninth Circuit found both to be non-binding, the logic in both cases implies that knowing consent — an element of contract law that is emphasized in law school as fundamental — seems no longer to be a requirement in “agreeing” to arbitrate future disputes. In Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble, (CTA 9 August...
Southern District of Texas: Arbitration Clause Does Not Allow Party to Seek Equitable Remedies in Court
December 8, 2014
In DXP Enterprises, Inc. v. Goulds Pumps, Inc., filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston...
December 8, 2014
In DXP Enterprises, Inc. v. Goulds Pumps, Inc., filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston...
Industry Response to Consumer Arbitration Study
December 8, 2014
Alan Kaplinsky and Mark Levin, Ballard Spahr attorneys writing on their CFPB Monitor blog, have offered their initial thoughts on the study of consumer understanding of arbitration agreements that my St. John’s colleagues and I recently posted. My colleague Jeff Sovern has posted a full response at the Consumer Law & Policy Blog. I’ll just add that, in my view, Levin and Kaplinsky don’t actually address the core problem we address in our article–that citizens are being unwittingly and unwillingly...
December 8, 2014
Alan Kaplinsky and Mark Levin, Ballard Spahr attorneys writing on their CFPB Monitor blog, have offered their initial thoughts on the study of consumer understanding of arbitration agreements that my St. John’s colleagues and I recently posted. My colleague Jeff Sovern has posted a full response at the Consumer Law & Policy Blog. I’ll just add that, in my view, Levin and Kaplinsky don’t actually address the core problem we address in our article–that citizens are being unwittingly and unwillingly...
Predicting the Future of Mediation
December 8, 2014
I should know better and follow the advice a friend once gave me when he said: “Peter, a shut mouth gathers no foot.”...
December 8, 2014
I should know better and follow the advice a friend once gave me when he said: “Peter, a shut mouth gathers no foot.”...
Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce: Divvying Up Perks, Pity, Scorn and Snark
December 7, 2014
There are businesses that bet on breakups. Patricia Cohen, an ex-wife of Steven A. Cohen, the hedge fund billionaire, recently received an infusion of cash, known as litigation financing, from a California company, Balance Point Divorce Funding, to continue her lawsuit against her former husband. The Huffington Post has an entire section devoted to divorce: celebrity splits, legal news, spiritual advice, helpful hints and lists. Divorce support is not a cottage industry; it’s a palatial business...
December 7, 2014
There are businesses that bet on breakups. Patricia Cohen, an ex-wife of Steven A. Cohen, the hedge fund billionaire, recently received an infusion of cash, known as litigation financing, from a California company, Balance Point Divorce Funding, to continue her lawsuit against her former husband. The Huffington Post has an entire section devoted to divorce: celebrity splits, legal news, spiritual advice, helpful hints and lists. Divorce support is not a cottage industry; it’s a palatial business...
Amazon Has Launched A GrubHub Rival For Food Takeout & Delivery
December 6, 2014
Back in June, we wrote about how Amazon was preparing to take on companies like Seamless, Grubhub and DeliveryHero with a restaurant takeout and delivery service that would sit within its Amazon Local app and website. Now that service is live. The Takeout & Delivery feature was quietly turned on over last weekend — when many were probably still working their way through Thanksgiving leftovers. “The holidays are busy. We can help,” the company notes in the app. We have tried out different...
December 6, 2014
Back in June, we wrote about how Amazon was preparing to take on companies like Seamless, Grubhub and DeliveryHero with a restaurant takeout and delivery service that would sit within its Amazon Local app and website. Now that service is live. The Takeout & Delivery feature was quietly turned on over last weekend — when many were probably still working their way through Thanksgiving leftovers. “The holidays are busy. We can help,” the company notes in the app. We have tried out different...
Automatically Making Sense of Data
December 6, 2014
While the availability and size of data sets across a wide range of sources, from medical to scientific to commercial, continues...
December 6, 2014
While the availability and size of data sets across a wide range of sources, from medical to scientific to commercial, continues...
Katz and Bommarito: The Three Forms of (Legal) Prediction: Experts, Crowds and Algorithms
December 6, 2014
Daniel Martin Katz and Michael Bommarito of Michigan State University and the ReInvent Law Lab have posted slides of their presentation entitled The Three Forms of (Legal) Prediction: Experts, Crowds and Algorithms, given 19 November 2014 at Chicago Legal Innovation and Technology Meetup, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Among the topics covered in the presentation are: Katz’s research on quantitative legal prediction The Supreme Court Forecasting Project Katz, Bommarito, and Blackman’s...
December 6, 2014
Daniel Martin Katz and Michael Bommarito of Michigan State University and the ReInvent Law Lab have posted slides of their presentation entitled The Three Forms of (Legal) Prediction: Experts, Crowds and Algorithms, given 19 November 2014 at Chicago Legal Innovation and Technology Meetup, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Among the topics covered in the presentation are: Katz’s research on quantitative legal prediction The Supreme Court Forecasting Project Katz, Bommarito, and Blackman’s...
Bellwether Mediation of Medical Implant Tops $1 Billion
December 5, 2014
A unique approach to settlement The first lawsuit was filed in Bergen County, New Jersey, several weeks after the recall. About 4,000 lawsuits followed from the across the country, and the judge hearing the first case, Brian Martinotti, began consolidating the suits. But in recognition of the advanced age of many of the hip implant patients, he decided to do something different. Martinotti appointed former U.S. magistrate Diane Welsh, now of JAMS in Philadelphia, as a mediator to first hear...
December 5, 2014
A unique approach to settlement The first lawsuit was filed in Bergen County, New Jersey, several weeks after the recall. About 4,000 lawsuits followed from the across the country, and the judge hearing the first case, Brian Martinotti, began consolidating the suits. But in recognition of the advanced age of many of the hip implant patients, he decided to do something different. Martinotti appointed former U.S. magistrate Diane Welsh, now of JAMS in Philadelphia, as a mediator to first hear...
