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Fifth Circuit Sends Case to Arbitration 2 1/2 Years After Litigation Begins
August 20, 2014
In Al Rushaid v. Nat'l Oilwell Varco, Inc., plaintiffs sued eight entities for breach of contract. The District Court found that the disputed contracts could result in damages in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Discovery would have to take place on several continents. Accordingly, although plaintiffs served all defendants except National Oilwell Varco Norway (NOV Norway) in August 2011, the District Court set a trial date in June 2013. In August 2012, plaintiffs served NOV Norway, which...
August 20, 2014
In Al Rushaid v. Nat'l Oilwell Varco, Inc., plaintiffs sued eight entities for breach of contract. The District Court found that the disputed contracts could result in damages in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Discovery would have to take place on several continents. Accordingly, although plaintiffs served all defendants except National Oilwell Varco Norway (NOV Norway) in August 2011, the District Court set a trial date in June 2013. In August 2012, plaintiffs served NOV Norway, which...
Three Surveys Offering New Insights into ADR Practices
August 20, 2014
Professor Thomas Stipanowich recently posted information regarding three major surveys conducted by the The Straus Institute’s Theory-to-Practice Research Project that produced a wide array of new information on arbitrator and mediator practices as well as insights into corporate use of ADR. Two of the surveys focused on dispute resolution professionals: a survey of experienced arbitrators with the cooperation of the College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA), and a survey of experienced mediators...
August 20, 2014
Professor Thomas Stipanowich recently posted information regarding three major surveys conducted by the The Straus Institute’s Theory-to-Practice Research Project that produced a wide array of new information on arbitrator and mediator practices as well as insights into corporate use of ADR. Two of the surveys focused on dispute resolution professionals: a survey of experienced arbitrators with the cooperation of the College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA), and a survey of experienced mediators...
Governing Law on Forum-Selection Agreements
August 20, 2014
The judicial task of fixing on the proper law to govern a contractual choice-of-forum clause comprises an enigma. The key to its solution lies at the very heart of the subject, where one encounters its most celebrated riddle: Which law governs when the parties have also agreed to a choice-of-law clause, that is, does one first test the forum-selection clause under the law of the seised forum or does one first look at the parties’ choice of law to apply the chosen law to the forum-selection clause?...
August 20, 2014
The judicial task of fixing on the proper law to govern a contractual choice-of-forum clause comprises an enigma. The key to its solution lies at the very heart of the subject, where one encounters its most celebrated riddle: Which law governs when the parties have also agreed to a choice-of-law clause, that is, does one first test the forum-selection clause under the law of the seised forum or does one first look at the parties’ choice of law to apply the chosen law to the forum-selection clause?...
Creating an Ever-Flexible Center for Tech Innovation
August 19, 2014
Dan Huttenlocher does not like walls. This is not so much an aesthetic preference as it is a practical concern. Walls divide people and define spaces. They restrict movement. They discourage exchange. And they are a pain to move if your needs change, especially when they are stuffed with cables, ducts and other infrastructure accessories. Mr. Huttenlocher is certain his needs will change. As dean of Cornell Tech, a closely watched collaboration in New York City between Cornell University and the Technion-Israel...
August 19, 2014
Dan Huttenlocher does not like walls. This is not so much an aesthetic preference as it is a practical concern. Walls divide people and define spaces. They restrict movement. They discourage exchange. And they are a pain to move if your needs change, especially when they are stuffed with cables, ducts and other infrastructure accessories. Mr. Huttenlocher is certain his needs will change. As dean of Cornell Tech, a closely watched collaboration in New York City between Cornell University and the Technion-Israel...
Dealing With Employees Who Are Suing Your Company
August 19, 2014
Many companies, at one time or another, will be sued for discrimination or harassment. When this occurs, it is not uncommon for the lawsuit to be brought by a current employee who continues to work for the company. This creates an uncomfortable situation—and poses a significant risk that the employee will perceive any subsequent negative actions by the company as retaliatory in nature, and will then add an additional claim of retaliation. It is a bizarre experience to direct the assignments...
August 19, 2014
Many companies, at one time or another, will be sued for discrimination or harassment. When this occurs, it is not uncommon for the lawsuit to be brought by a current employee who continues to work for the company. This creates an uncomfortable situation—and poses a significant risk that the employee will perceive any subsequent negative actions by the company as retaliatory in nature, and will then add an additional claim of retaliation. It is a bizarre experience to direct the assignments...
ABA / Straus Institute Survey of Corporate Counsel
August 19, 2014
One of the three recent surveys undertaken by the Straus Institute in 2013 as part of the Theory-to-Practice Research Project was a survey of corporate counsel co-sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Section on Public Utilities, Communication and Transportation (PUCAT) ADR Committee. The Institute’s work was conducted pursuant to a contractual agreement with PUCAT. Here is some initial information regarding the Survey: Survey Group A total of thirty-three individuals responded...
August 19, 2014
One of the three recent surveys undertaken by the Straus Institute in 2013 as part of the Theory-to-Practice Research Project was a survey of corporate counsel co-sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Section on Public Utilities, Communication and Transportation (PUCAT) ADR Committee. The Institute’s work was conducted pursuant to a contractual agreement with PUCAT. Here is some initial information regarding the Survey: Survey Group A total of thirty-three individuals responded...
What We Consent to When We Consent to Form Contracts: Market Price
August 19, 2014
Contracts require consent, yet no one reads form contracts. So what do we consent to when we consent to form contracts? Scholarly answers to this question range from “we consent to everything but the radically unexpected” to “we consent to nothing but the specifically negotiated.” This essay offers a new answer: when we consent to form contracts we consent to pay market price. Part I of this essay discusses Randy Barnett’s argument that consent to form contracts is consent to be legally...
August 19, 2014
Contracts require consent, yet no one reads form contracts. So what do we consent to when we consent to form contracts? Scholarly answers to this question range from “we consent to everything but the radically unexpected” to “we consent to nothing but the specifically negotiated.” This essay offers a new answer: when we consent to form contracts we consent to pay market price. Part I of this essay discusses Randy Barnett’s argument that consent to form contracts is consent to be legally...
TyMetrix 360 Enhanced to Meet Growing Needs of Insurance Claims Industry
August 18, 2014
Datacert|TyMetrix, the global leader in Enterprise Legal Management, announced today a significant number of enhancements...
August 18, 2014
Datacert|TyMetrix, the global leader in Enterprise Legal Management, announced today a significant number of enhancements...
In Life, Who Wins, the Fox or the Hedgehog?
August 18, 2014
Biologists like David MacDonald, Berlin's fellow Oxonian, have studied fox life in detail. As it turns out, Archilochus got it right: Foxes are far more wily and flexible learners than hedgehogs. But why? Foxes also have a much longer childhood than hedgehogs. Hedgehogs develop their spines—that one big thing—almost as soon as they are born and are independent in only six weeks. Fox cubs are dependent for six months. As a result, hedgehogs need much less parental care—hedgehog fathers disappear...
August 18, 2014
Biologists like David MacDonald, Berlin's fellow Oxonian, have studied fox life in detail. As it turns out, Archilochus got it right: Foxes are far more wily and flexible learners than hedgehogs. But why? Foxes also have a much longer childhood than hedgehogs. Hedgehogs develop their spines—that one big thing—almost as soon as they are born and are independent in only six weeks. Fox cubs are dependent for six months. As a result, hedgehogs need much less parental care—hedgehog fathers disappear...
Not Everything Is Arbitrable Says 2-1 Majority of the Fifth Circuit
August 18, 2014
In 2002, Shirley Douglas opened a checking account with Union Planters Bank. In connection with that account, which she closed in 2003, Ms. Douglas signed a signature card that provided for binding arbitration and delegated the issue of arbitrability to the arbiter. That bank merged into Regions Bank (Regions) in 2005. In 2007, Ms. Douglas was injured in a car accident. She alleges that her attorney embezzled her $500,000 settlement, and she sued Regions and another bank at which the attorney...
August 18, 2014
In 2002, Shirley Douglas opened a checking account with Union Planters Bank. In connection with that account, which she closed in 2003, Ms. Douglas signed a signature card that provided for binding arbitration and delegated the issue of arbitrability to the arbiter. That bank merged into Regions Bank (Regions) in 2005. In 2007, Ms. Douglas was injured in a car accident. She alleges that her attorney embezzled her $500,000 settlement, and she sued Regions and another bank at which the attorney...
