Monthly Archives: May 2021

A Texas federal court in Nii-Moi v. McAllenHospitalist Group rejected a physician employee’s argument that his former employer waived a condition precedent to arbitration by failing to participate in a mediation proceeding mandated by the employment agreement. According to the court, the issue of waiver was for the arbitrator, not the court to decide. TheContinue reading “Judge Rules That Arbitrator, Not The Court, Must Decide Whether Defendant Satisfied A Mediation Condition Precedent Prior To Instituting Arbitration”

Latiqua Liles of Genova Burns has this article in JD Supra, discussing the New Jersey Appellate Division’s decision in Hampton v. ADT, LLC , which overruled a trial court order compelling a former employee to arbitrate claims against his former employer’s predecessor. As the article explains, the Appellate Division held that the lower court erredContinue reading ““Sign on the Dotted Line: Enforceability of Arbitration Agreements Against Predecessor Company””

Michael Holecek of Gibson Dunn has authored this Client Alert, discussing various techniques that companies are incorporating into their ADR provisions in response to the mass arbitration strategies that have evolved in response to class-action waivers found in arbitration agreements.

A California appeals court has affirmed the denial of a petition to compel arbitration in a dispute between an elderly individual and the residential care facility where she lived. The agreement between the parties provided for the arbitration of claims to be “administered by the National Arbitration Forum under the Code of Procedure then inContinue reading “Contract Designated Arbitration Tribunal’s Closure Renders Arbitration Provision Unenforceable”

In Off-Spec Solutions, LLC v. Transportation Investors, LLC, the Idaho Supreme Court determined that commercial parties contractual agreement to arbitrate disputes in California was unenforceable in light of an Idaho statute rendering void contract provisions that attempt to prevent a party from enforcing its rights in Idaho tribunals. Confronting the contract’s California choice of lawContinue reading “Contractual Choice Of Arbitration Forum Overridden By State Court”

My guess is that most practitioners would be surprised to think that failure to assert arbitration as an affirmative defense in an answer would constitute a waiver of the right to arbitrate. However, an Oklahoma intermediate appeals court concluded that it did, resulting in an appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In Howell’s Well Service,Continue reading “Failure To Raise Arbitration As An Affirmative Defense Does Not Constitute A Waiver”

John Lewis of Baker Hostetler has this article in Lexology, discussing the Wisconsin District Court’s decision in O’Bryan v. Pember Companies, Inc., , in which the court held that a provision in a 48 page employee handbook requiring the submission of all disputes to arbitration was ineffectual due to an employee acknowledgement form on itsContinue reading ““Opinion of Wisconsin District Judge Again Illustrates that Arbitration Is a Creature of Contract””

In WFP Securities, Inc. v. Davis, a California appellate court was confronted with an arbitration agreement between an individual and her former investment advisors that provided as follows: “I agree that all controversies which may arise between us concerning any transaction, the construction, performance or breach of this or any other agreement between us, whetherContinue reading “Court Holds That Breadth Of Arbitration Agreement Supports Motion To Compel Tort Claims”

In Sunnova Energy Corp v. Spruce Lending, Inc., the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s denial of a party’s motion to compel arbitration, finding that the movant had failed to present the court with a sufficient documentary record to establish that the arbitrability decision was to be made by the arbitrator. As theContinue reading “Decision To Redact Documents Results In Denial Of Motion To Compel Arbitration”

In two decisions issued this week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals refused invitations to overrule arbitrators’ decisions. In Netter v. Raisch, the court emphatically rejected the proposition that an arbitrator exceeds his powers if he wrongly interprets the law. As the court held, “While we do not necessarily see any error in the arbitrator’s interpretationContinue reading “Minnesota Decisions Serve As A Reminder That Courts Should Rarely Interfere With Arbitration Decisions”