Author Archives: Robert Harris

In this article available at JD Supra, Abby Silverman offers helpful insight into “participants’ reaction to one aspect of the mediation process—the bargaining.” As she explains, “[t]he emotions surrounding litigation may explain why participants in mediations, experienced and inexperienced litigants alike, are shocked and surprised in the normal course of mediation it becomes a bargainingContinue reading ““Preparing Clients for Productive Mediations””

The First Circuit’s recent decision in Emmanuel v. Handy Technologies, Inc. is the subject of this JD Supra article by Carlton Fields. As the article explains, the court compelled arbitration of a putative class action brought on behalf of nannies and housekeepers offering services through the defendant’s app, alleging that they were misclassified as independentContinue reading ““First Circuit Concludes App User Is Bound By Arbitration Clause In App’s Terms and Conditions””

This article, available in The National Law Review and authored by Leith Ben Ammar of Greenberg Traurig, discusses “the applicability of data protection laws to international arbitration, describes who is responsible for compliance with the data protection laws, and identifies key rules and principles likely to apply.”

Parties often include a demand for attorneys’ fees in claims submitted for arbitration. The opportunity to recover attorneys’ fees is dependent upon the success of the underlying substantive claim, so the inclination of a party is often to wait until the arbitrator issues the award on the claim. However, because the Federal Arbitration Act andContinue reading “Prevailing Party In Arbitration Loses Right To Seek Attorneys’ Fees By Not Presenting Evidence Prior To The Issuance Of An Award”

Christina Gallo of Carlton Fields has authored this article, available at JD Supra, discussing the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Melton v. Pavilion Behavioral Health System. As the article notes, the court “found that the EEOC’s right-to-sue letter did not override the arbitration agreement; it merely allowed Melton to move beyond the administrative process and pursueContinue reading ““Seventh Circuit Holds EEOC Right-to-Sue Letter Does Not Trump a Binding Arbitration Agreement””

Gregg Weiner, Dan Ward and Carrie Sandstrom of Ropes & Gray “examine the state of the law in a number of jurisdictions, explore litigation pitfalls, and provide practice pointers related to the interplay between arbitration and injunctions” in this article, jointly published by New York Law Journal and Law.com.

FINRA recently issued new guidance, reminding member firms that when they “use mandatory arbitration clauses in their customer agreements, FINRA rules establish minimum disclosure requirements regarding the use of such clauses and prohibit predispute arbitration agreements from including conditions that, among other things, limit or contradict FINRA rules.” In particular, FINRA’s guidance emphasizes that “anyContinue reading ““FINRA Reminds Members About Requirements When Using Predispute Arbitration Agreements for Customer Accounts””

Diane Saunders of Ogletree Deakins has this article, available in The National Law Review, discussing the First Circuit’s recent decision in Bossé v. New York Life Insurance Co. et al., pursuant to which she notes that “employers operating within the First Circuit can be more confident that if their arbitration agreements contain delegation clauses that clearlyContinue reading ““First Circuit Enforces Delegation Clause in Arbitration Agreement””

Earlier this year, I referenced the Northern District of Illinois decision in Wilcosky v. Amazon.Com, Inc., compelling arbitration of claims against Amazon alleging that the company, through its Alexa device, violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by illegally recordings their voices and storing their voiceprints. One claimant ordered to arbitration was not a purchaserContinue reading “Children Of Alexa Users Not Required To Arbitrate Their Claims Of Unlawful Wiretapping”

In Broumand v. Joseph, 2021 WL 771387 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 27, 2021) Southern District Judge Jed Rakoff recently addressed issues posed by a party’s attempt to subpoena out-of-state witnesses to a New York arbitration. This article, by Edward Spiro and Christopher Harwood of Morvillo Abramowitz, available in Lexology, analyzes the court’s decision and offers “a cautionaryContinue reading ““Thorny Issues Raised by Third-Party Discovery in Arbitration””