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arbitration agreement
Arbitral Autonomy
December 27, 2013
Ali Khan, Professor of Law at Washburn University School of Law, has published an interesting article entitled, Arbitral Autonomy, Louisiana Law Review, Vol. 74, No. 2, 2013. In his paper, Professor Khan discusses the need to minimize court challenges to arbitration in order to successfully achieve arbitral autonomy. Here is the abstract: This Article presents concrete proposals to amend the current arbitration law for minimizing court intervention into arbitration proceedings and enforcement...
December 27, 2013
Ali Khan, Professor of Law at Washburn University School of Law, has published an interesting article entitled, Arbitral Autonomy, Louisiana Law Review, Vol. 74, No. 2, 2013. In his paper, Professor Khan discusses the need to minimize court challenges to arbitration in order to successfully achieve arbitral autonomy. Here is the abstract: This Article presents concrete proposals to amend the current arbitration law for minimizing court intervention into arbitration proceedings and enforcement...
West Virginia Has A Change Of Heart About Arbitration
December 13, 2013
A few months ago, you would have reasonably thought that West Virginia was one of the most anti-arbitration states in the country. ...
December 13, 2013
A few months ago, you would have reasonably thought that West Virginia was one of the most anti-arbitration states in the country. ...
California Supreme Court Attempts to Thread the Unconscionability Needle
December 5, 2013
California’s appellate courts have had a strained relationship with the U.S. Supreme Court when it comes to enforcement of the FAA in the last few years. Illustrative of this tension is a recent decision captioned Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, No. S174475 (Cal. Oct. 17, 2013) (“Sonic II”). The Court in Sonic II was instructed by the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling in Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, 51 Cal. 4th 659 (2011) (“Sonic I”), which invalidated an arbitration...
December 5, 2013
California’s appellate courts have had a strained relationship with the U.S. Supreme Court when it comes to enforcement of the FAA in the last few years. Illustrative of this tension is a recent decision captioned Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, No. S174475 (Cal. Oct. 17, 2013) (“Sonic II”). The Court in Sonic II was instructed by the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling in Sonic-Calabasas A, Inc. v. Moreno, 51 Cal. 4th 659 (2011) (“Sonic I”), which invalidated an arbitration...
Courts Stopping Non-Signatories From Compelling Arbitration Through Equitable Estoppel
October 30, 2013
Now that we know the Supreme Court is not going to be addressing non-signatories’ ability to compel arbitration this term (at least not in the Toyota case), we can take a moment to look at what lower courts are doing with that issue. In short, the trend is for courts to clarify that it is very difficult for defendants who do not have an arbitration agreement with the plaintiff (non-signatories) to use equitable estoppel to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s claims based on the plaintiff’s...
October 30, 2013
Now that we know the Supreme Court is not going to be addressing non-signatories’ ability to compel arbitration this term (at least not in the Toyota case), we can take a moment to look at what lower courts are doing with that issue. In short, the trend is for courts to clarify that it is very difficult for defendants who do not have an arbitration agreement with the plaintiff (non-signatories) to use equitable estoppel to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s claims based on the plaintiff’s...
Round-Up Of Federal Decisions Involving Questions of Arbitrability
September 25, 2013
Mortensen v. Bresnan Communications, LLC, No. 11-35823 (9th Cir. July 15, 2013) (vacating district court order declining...
September 25, 2013
Mortensen v. Bresnan Communications, LLC, No. 11-35823 (9th Cir. July 15, 2013) (vacating district court order declining...
Illusoriness Gains In Popularity As An Arbitration Buster
September 24, 2013
You hear more about Lena Dunham than you expect, given the audience for “Girls”, right? (Read this article for more.) The same is true, or should be true, for the contract defense of illusoriness. After decades of disuse, it is popping up more and more often as a defense to the enforcement of arbitration clauses (like in New Mexico and the Fifth Circuit), and therefore qualifies as the “it girl” of arbitration law. Just last week, the Sixth Circuit issued a new decision, affirming...
September 24, 2013
You hear more about Lena Dunham than you expect, given the audience for “Girls”, right? (Read this article for more.) The same is true, or should be true, for the contract defense of illusoriness. After decades of disuse, it is popping up more and more often as a defense to the enforcement of arbitration clauses (like in New Mexico and the Fifth Circuit), and therefore qualifies as the “it girl” of arbitration law. Just last week, the Sixth Circuit issued a new decision, affirming...
Is a Receiver Bound to Arbitration Agreement if Suing on Behalf of Creditors?
September 23, 2013
The 5th Circuit rarely lets parties out of contracts that mandate that their disputes be settled through binding arbitration. That could turn out to be true even for the federally appointed receiver who's seeking to recover the allegedly fraudulently transferred assets of convicted financier R. Allen Stanford and his related companies.
September 23, 2013
The 5th Circuit rarely lets parties out of contracts that mandate that their disputes be settled through binding arbitration. That could turn out to be true even for the federally appointed receiver who's seeking to recover the allegedly fraudulently transferred assets of convicted financier R. Allen Stanford and his related companies.
Round-Up of Decisions on Motions to Compel Arbitration
September 21, 2013
Grosvenor v. Qwest Corp., No. 12-1095 (10th Cir. Aug. 14, 2013) (dismissing Qwest’s appeal of district court’s order...
September 21, 2013
Grosvenor v. Qwest Corp., No. 12-1095 (10th Cir. Aug. 14, 2013) (dismissing Qwest’s appeal of district court’s order...
Class-Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements Are Enforceable
September 18, 2013
The Fourth Circuit held that class-action waivers in otherwise valid arbitration agreements are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S.Ct. 1740 (2011), “plainly prohibited” the courts from invalidating an otherwise valid arbitration agreement due to a class-action waiver. As a result, it is error to hold that a class-action waiver in an arbitration agreement is unconscionable.
September 18, 2013
The Fourth Circuit held that class-action waivers in otherwise valid arbitration agreements are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S.Ct. 1740 (2011), “plainly prohibited” the courts from invalidating an otherwise valid arbitration agreement due to a class-action waiver. As a result, it is error to hold that a class-action waiver in an arbitration agreement is unconscionable.
Is a Receiver Bound to Arbitration Agreement if Suing on Behalf of Creditors?
September 16, 2013
The 5th Circuit rarely lets parties out of contracts that mandate that their disputes be settled through binding arbitration. That could turn out to be true even for the federally appointed receiver who's seeking to recover the allegedly fraudulently transferred assets of convicted financier R. Allen Stanford and his related companies.
September 16, 2013
The 5th Circuit rarely lets parties out of contracts that mandate that their disputes be settled through binding arbitration. That could turn out to be true even for the federally appointed receiver who's seeking to recover the allegedly fraudulently transferred assets of convicted financier R. Allen Stanford and his related companies.
