Monthly Archives: September 2021

This article by Phil Loree provides a great overview of federal cases addressing claims that a party has waived its contractual right to pursue arbitration, with special attention paid to whether a showing of prejudice is required. Mr. Loree suggests that a split in the circuits makes this issue appropriate for determination by the U.S.Continue reading ““Waiver of Arbitration: Will the U.S. Supreme Court Resolve the Circuit Split Concerning Prejudice?””

The increased popularity of electronic signing of contracts has generated litigation regarding disputes over whether a party agreed to arbitrate disputes. In Valdez v. Tesla, Inc., a California court has reinforced that, once a purported electronically signed arbitration agreement is presented to the court, the party challenging the enforceability of the agreement bears the burdenContinue reading “Court Clarifies Burden Of Proving Validity Of Electronically Signed Arbitration Agreement”

Those familiar with the arbitration process understand that a court will rarely vacate an award based on the arbitrator’s substantive determinations. A court’s only concern under both federal and state statutes is that the process be procedurally fair. For example, the Federal Arbitration Act provides that an award may be vacated: “(1) where the awardContinue reading “Court Provides Guidance Regarding The Circumstances Warranting Postponement Of An Arbitration Hearing”

As discussed by Bloomberg Law in this article discussing the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Miller v. Midland Credit Management, Inc., attorneys need not pay the price for a client who fails to show at a court-ordered mediation. The trial court, dissatisfied with the client’s failure to appear, directed counsel to “address whether they have regainedContinue reading ““Attorneys Turn Back Their Sanctions Over Client’s Absence””

Yesterday, I flagged the Ninth Circuit’s divided decision upholding a California statute rendering unlawful an employer’s requirement that employees agree to the arbitration of disputes. The opinion already is generating commentary. Nancy Yaffe of Fox Rothschild has this article, describing the conundrum in which the decision places employers pending further review by the entire circuitContinue reading “More On 9th Circuit Decision Upholding Statutory Prohibition Against Mandatory Arbitration Of Employment Disputes”

Reuters offers this analysis of yesterday’s Ninth Circuit ruling upholding a California statute rendering unlawful an employer’s requirement that employees agree to the arbitration of disputes. The panel, in a sharply divided 2-1 decision, held that the California statute is not preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act’s admonition that an agreement to arbitrate “shall beContinue reading ““California bar on mandatory arbitration doesn’t violate FAA – 9th Circ.””

Greg Keating, Katherine Rigby and Fran DeLuca of Epstein Becker & Green have authored this article, available at The National Law Review, discussing the Massachusetts Superior Court decision in Hernandez v. Universal Protection Services. As they explain, while “[m]any employers are aware that they could waive the ability to enforce an arbitration agreement if theyContinue reading ““Novel Massachusetts Decision Finds Waiver of Right to Compel Arbitration Based on Pre-Litigation Actions””

Law/Street has this article, discussing the Third Circuit’s decision in Verizon Pennsylvania, LLC v. Communicatins Workers of America, AFL-CIO, Local 13000, in which the court reaffirmed the ongoing vitality of the functus officio doctrine: “we hold that it is alive and well in this Court.” Under the doctrine, as the article explains, “once an arbitrator,Continue reading ““3rd Circuit Issues Precedential Opinion in Verizon Labor Arbitration Award Dispute””

Having recently returned from a trip to Block Island that included walks along the Great Salt Pond and past Champlin’s Marina, this article caught my attention. It critiques a mediation between Rhode Island’s administrative Coastal Resources Management Council and Champlin’s. The mediation resolved a longstanding dispute arising out of Champlin’s desire to expand its capacityContinue reading ““How a Block Island marina dispute fractured trust in R.I. coastal agency””