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Crossing the Threshold: Arbitral Jurisdiction after BG Group
November 7, 2014
Professor Alan S. Rau, Mark G. and Judy G. Yudof Chair in Law at the University of Texas School of Law, has authored Crossing the Threshold: Arbitral Jurisdiction after BG Group, Melanges en l’honneur de Pierre Mayer (2015 Forthcoming). In his paper, Professor Rau discusses the effect the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in BG Group v. Argentina has had on arbitration. Here is the abstract: In a decision that was much anticipated and that has been much discussed, the Supreme...
November 7, 2014
Professor Alan S. Rau, Mark G. and Judy G. Yudof Chair in Law at the University of Texas School of Law, has authored Crossing the Threshold: Arbitral Jurisdiction after BG Group, Melanges en l’honneur de Pierre Mayer (2015 Forthcoming). In his paper, Professor Rau discusses the effect the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in BG Group v. Argentina has had on arbitration. Here is the abstract: In a decision that was much anticipated and that has been much discussed, the Supreme...
A Fair Fight: Professional Guidelines in International Arbitration
November 7, 2014
Professor William W. Park, R. Gordon Butler Scholar in International Law at the Boston University School of Law has published a thoughtful article entitled, A Fair Fight: Professional Guidelines in International Arbitration, Forthcoming, 30 Arbitration International 409 (2014); Boston Univ. School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 14-53. In his article, Professor Park examines the recently adopted arbitral guidelines and rules created by the International Bar Association and the London Court...
November 7, 2014
Professor William W. Park, R. Gordon Butler Scholar in International Law at the Boston University School of Law has published a thoughtful article entitled, A Fair Fight: Professional Guidelines in International Arbitration, Forthcoming, 30 Arbitration International 409 (2014); Boston Univ. School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 14-53. In his article, Professor Park examines the recently adopted arbitral guidelines and rules created by the International Bar Association and the London Court...
Google Scholar – All The Law You’ll Ever Need
November 6, 2014
Caselaw is Set Free, What Next? - Google Scholar Blog. This is a great exposition of the history of Internet legal research...
November 6, 2014
Caselaw is Set Free, What Next? - Google Scholar Blog. This is a great exposition of the history of Internet legal research...
The Three Breakthroughs That Have Finally Unleashed AI on the World
November 6, 2014
A few months ago I made the trek to the sylvan campus of the IBM research labs in Yorktown Heights, New York, to catch an early glimpse of the fast-arriving, long-overdue future of artificial intelligence. This was the home of Watson, the electronic genius that conquered Jeopardy! in 2011. The original Watson is still here—it's about the size of a bedroom, with 10 upright, refrigerator-shaped machines forming the four walls. The tiny interior cavity gives technicians access to the jumble of wires...
November 6, 2014
A few months ago I made the trek to the sylvan campus of the IBM research labs in Yorktown Heights, New York, to catch an early glimpse of the fast-arriving, long-overdue future of artificial intelligence. This was the home of Watson, the electronic genius that conquered Jeopardy! in 2011. The original Watson is still here—it's about the size of a bedroom, with 10 upright, refrigerator-shaped machines forming the four walls. The tiny interior cavity gives technicians access to the jumble of wires...
Reimagining Arbitration
November 6, 2014
The rapid growth of commercial arbitration has not been without drawbacks. As counsel have become more sophisticated in dispute process design, arbitrations now often incorporate many elements of a court trial. Litigation constructs such as detailed pleadings, broad-based discovery, provisional relief, dispositive motions and formal rules of evidence are often now a part of arbitration. The inevitable consequence of these changes has been increased expense and delay. To preserve the benefits...
November 6, 2014
The rapid growth of commercial arbitration has not been without drawbacks. As counsel have become more sophisticated in dispute process design, arbitrations now often incorporate many elements of a court trial. Litigation constructs such as detailed pleadings, broad-based discovery, provisional relief, dispositive motions and formal rules of evidence are often now a part of arbitration. The inevitable consequence of these changes has been increased expense and delay. To preserve the benefits...
Dallas COA Affirms Arbitral Award Despite Evident Partiality Claims
November 6, 2014
The Fifth District Court of Appeals of Texas in Dallas has affirmed a trial court’s order confirming an arbitral award in a dispute between a residential builder and several homeowners. In Meritage Homes of Texas, L.L.C. v. Ruan, No. 05-13-00831-CV (Tex. App. – Dallas, September 16, 2014) a group of individuals who bought newly built homes from Meritage allegedly learned that their houses were smaller than the square footage that was represented to them prior to purchase. As a result, the homeowners...
November 6, 2014
The Fifth District Court of Appeals of Texas in Dallas has affirmed a trial court’s order confirming an arbitral award in a dispute between a residential builder and several homeowners. In Meritage Homes of Texas, L.L.C. v. Ruan, No. 05-13-00831-CV (Tex. App. – Dallas, September 16, 2014) a group of individuals who bought newly built homes from Meritage allegedly learned that their houses were smaller than the square footage that was represented to them prior to purchase. As a result, the homeowners...
Fifth Circuit Reverses in Part N.D. of Texas’ Order Compelling Arbitration in Health Plan Sales Dispute
November 6, 2014
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed portions of a district court’s order compelling arbitration in a contract dispute. In Sharpe v. AmeriPlan Corp., No. 13-10922, (5th Cir., October 16, 2014), four independent business owners (“IBOs”) sold health plans and recruited other IBOs through a network for AmeriPlan Corporation. Under the company’s sales plan, the IBOs became sales directors who were entitled to collect residual income for life based on the sales...
November 6, 2014
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed portions of a district court’s order compelling arbitration in a contract dispute. In Sharpe v. AmeriPlan Corp., No. 13-10922, (5th Cir., October 16, 2014), four independent business owners (“IBOs”) sold health plans and recruited other IBOs through a network for AmeriPlan Corporation. Under the company’s sales plan, the IBOs became sales directors who were entitled to collect residual income for life based on the sales...
The Voice of Authority in Insurance Mediation
November 5, 2014
Mediation hands parties the power to resolve disputes directly and outside a court but exactly who is given the power to settle and for how much can be a pivotal factor in mediation. This is especially pertinent to the insurance sector. The ideal scenario in a mediation is that all the parties in attendance have “full authority” to settle the claim, including insurance representatives. After all, entering a mediation only to find you are negotiating with someone without the power to make a settlement...
November 5, 2014
Mediation hands parties the power to resolve disputes directly and outside a court but exactly who is given the power to settle and for how much can be a pivotal factor in mediation. This is especially pertinent to the insurance sector. The ideal scenario in a mediation is that all the parties in attendance have “full authority” to settle the claim, including insurance representatives. After all, entering a mediation only to find you are negotiating with someone without the power to make a settlement...
“Agreements” to Arbitrate: How Stands First Options?
November 5, 2014
As recently as 1995, the Supreme Court observed, in First Options of Chicago v. Kaplan, that arbitration was a creature of contract: “[A] party who has not agreed to arbitrate will normally have a right to a court’s decision about the merits of its dispute.” Yet what constitutes an agreement to arbitrate seems to be very much in play since First Options was decided. In that case, owners of an investment company were held to have agreed to arbitrate disputes involving that company, but were...
November 5, 2014
As recently as 1995, the Supreme Court observed, in First Options of Chicago v. Kaplan, that arbitration was a creature of contract: “[A] party who has not agreed to arbitrate will normally have a right to a court’s decision about the merits of its dispute.” Yet what constitutes an agreement to arbitrate seems to be very much in play since First Options was decided. In that case, owners of an investment company were held to have agreed to arbitrate disputes involving that company, but were...
Copyright Infringement or Transformative Work?
November 5, 2014
The fair use doctrine was recently examined and applied Fox News Network, LLC v. TVEyes, Inc., 2014 WL 4444043 (S.D.N.Y....
November 5, 2014
The fair use doctrine was recently examined and applied Fox News Network, LLC v. TVEyes, Inc., 2014 WL 4444043 (S.D.N.Y....
