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The Delaware Rapid Arbitration Act: Cost-Efficient Resolution of Business Disputes
December 17, 2015
Legal practitioners and businesses once viewed arbitration as a faster, less expensive alternative to litigation. But this method of alternative dispute resolution has become protracted and costly as arbitration rules (and arbitrators) more readily permit broad discovery, dispositive motions, and other procedures that prolong resolution of a dispute. The Delaware Rapid Arbitration Act, Del. Code Ann. tit. 10, §§ 5801 et seq. (DRAA or the Act), effective since May 2015, creates an arbitration regime...
December 17, 2015
Legal practitioners and businesses once viewed arbitration as a faster, less expensive alternative to litigation. But this method of alternative dispute resolution has become protracted and costly as arbitration rules (and arbitrators) more readily permit broad discovery, dispositive motions, and other procedures that prolong resolution of a dispute. The Delaware Rapid Arbitration Act, Del. Code Ann. tit. 10, §§ 5801 et seq. (DRAA or the Act), effective since May 2015, creates an arbitration regime...
Opt-Out Arbitration Provisions
July 14, 2015
As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently took a look at Instagram's terms of use. I found it interesting that it contained an opt-out provision for arbitration. A clause at the top of the page states the following in bold: ARBITRATION NOTICE: EXCEPT IF YOU OPT-OUT AND EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF DISPUTES DESCRIBED IN THE ARBITRATION SECTION BELOW, YOU AGREE THAT DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND INSTAGRAM WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE...
July 14, 2015
As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently took a look at Instagram's terms of use. I found it interesting that it contained an opt-out provision for arbitration. A clause at the top of the page states the following in bold: ARBITRATION NOTICE: EXCEPT IF YOU OPT-OUT AND EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF DISPUTES DESCRIBED IN THE ARBITRATION SECTION BELOW, YOU AGREE THAT DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND INSTAGRAM WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE...
Class Actions, Arbitration and the Importance of Contract Formation
July 13, 2015
I wanted to follow up on Jeremy Telman's posts about two cases, Andermann v. Sprint Spectrum and Berkson v. Gogo. Both cases...
July 13, 2015
I wanted to follow up on Jeremy Telman's posts about two cases, Andermann v. Sprint Spectrum and Berkson v. Gogo. Both cases...
Construction Arbitration: Geography Lessons
July 1, 2015
Arbitrator Andrew Aglionby says that the main sticking points in construction disputes centre on quality, costs and time, most often when there are changes to contractual terms. Common examples are projects not being completed to the agreed standards, going over-budget or facing very lengthy delays. “These projects involve billions of dollars of investment and one of the biggest challenges is change: a change in the project specifications; a change in the timeframe; a change of mind; or sometimes...
July 1, 2015
Arbitrator Andrew Aglionby says that the main sticking points in construction disputes centre on quality, costs and time, most often when there are changes to contractual terms. Common examples are projects not being completed to the agreed standards, going over-budget or facing very lengthy delays. “These projects involve billions of dollars of investment and one of the biggest challenges is change: a change in the project specifications; a change in the timeframe; a change of mind; or sometimes...
New Rapid Arbitration Available in Delaware
April 29, 2015
New legislation was recently passed in Delaware to provide a procedure for expedited arbitration of business disputes. The key features of the new law, called the Delaware Rapid Arbitration Act, include: The decision of the arbitrator must be made within 120 days Appeals are made directly to the Delaware Supreme Court The arbitrator decides issues of arbitrability (which is designed to avoid the multitude of disputes, often noted on these pages, in which a court is asked to determine if an issue...
April 29, 2015
New legislation was recently passed in Delaware to provide a procedure for expedited arbitration of business disputes. The key features of the new law, called the Delaware Rapid Arbitration Act, include: The decision of the arbitrator must be made within 120 days Appeals are made directly to the Delaware Supreme Court The arbitrator decides issues of arbitrability (which is designed to avoid the multitude of disputes, often noted on these pages, in which a court is asked to determine if an issue...
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...
It’s All About that Clause, ‘bout that Clause
February 16, 2015
All of the foregoing attributes of arbitration, however, can only be achieved if the arbitration clause is properly drafted...
February 16, 2015
All of the foregoing attributes of arbitration, however, can only be achieved if the arbitration clause is properly drafted...
New York Federal Court Cannot Compel Arbitration in Georgia
October 15, 2014
A New York federal court recently was presented with a motion to compel arbitration in Georgia. The district court first concluded that the arbitration provision was enforceable and then proceeded to the question of whether it had the authority to compel arbitration in a district other than its own. The court described what it deemed an “internal conflict” within the Federal Arbitration Act because the Act provides both that (1) courts must enforce an arbitration agreement in accordance with...
October 15, 2014
A New York federal court recently was presented with a motion to compel arbitration in Georgia. The district court first concluded that the arbitration provision was enforceable and then proceeded to the question of whether it had the authority to compel arbitration in a district other than its own. The court described what it deemed an “internal conflict” within the Federal Arbitration Act because the Act provides both that (1) courts must enforce an arbitration agreement in accordance with...
Don’t Call It a “Trial”: What Litigators Should Know About Arbitration
September 8, 2014
Though the demand for arbitration may ebb and wane, it will likely grow substantially over the next decade. International trade will continue to expand. foreign companies fear our courts, and we fear theirs. Even some domestic companies distrust certain jurisdictions in the United States and, thus, bargain for arbitration. Privacy concerns will continue to draw many contracting companies under the blanket of a confidential proceeding. And parties to disputes involving a high degree of complexity...
September 8, 2014
Though the demand for arbitration may ebb and wane, it will likely grow substantially over the next decade. International trade will continue to expand. foreign companies fear our courts, and we fear theirs. Even some domestic companies distrust certain jurisdictions in the United States and, thus, bargain for arbitration. Privacy concerns will continue to draw many contracting companies under the blanket of a confidential proceeding. And parties to disputes involving a high degree of complexity...
Chevron in Ecuador: Forum Shopper’s Revenge
September 2, 2014
When Ecuadorean plaintiffs first sued Chevron Corporation over oil pollution 21 years ago, R. Hewitt Pate was a recent U.S. Supreme Court clerk reviewing documents in the warehouses of Virginia. With the passage of time, antitrust document review became the province of humble contract attorneys. Pate ascended to Chevron general counsel. And the Ecuador case kept going, and going, shifting at Chevron's behest from courts in the United States to Ecuador and then back. There was no doubt that Chevron...
September 2, 2014
When Ecuadorean plaintiffs first sued Chevron Corporation over oil pollution 21 years ago, R. Hewitt Pate was a recent U.S. Supreme Court clerk reviewing documents in the warehouses of Virginia. With the passage of time, antitrust document review became the province of humble contract attorneys. Pate ascended to Chevron general counsel. And the Ecuador case kept going, and going, shifting at Chevron's behest from courts in the United States to Ecuador and then back. There was no doubt that Chevron...
