Author Archives: Robert Harris

Mark Saloman and Jeffrey Shooman of FordHarrison have authored this article, published in JDSupra, discussing the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in Skuse v. Pfizer, Inc.

In Davis v. Kozak, the California Court of Appeal denied an employer’s motion to compel arbitration of a former employee’s claims, holding that the arbitration agreement between the parties was unconscionable because (a) it purported to limit the employee’s discovery right to two depositions absent a showing to the arbitrator of “sufficient cause”; and (b)Continue reading “California Court Rejects Employment Arbitration Agreement As Unconscionable”

A California appellate court has held that a malpractice action brought by the shareholders of the entity that engaged the law firm are bound by the retention agreement’s arbitration provision. In Avetisyan v. Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, the court held that the shareholders, while not signing a separate engagement agreement, were third party beneficiaries ofContinue reading “Third Party Beneficiaries Of An Attorney’s Retention Agreement Are Bound By Its Arbitration Provision”

Alexander J.S. Colvin of the Economic Policy Institute has issued this report, the tag line of which reads: “Access to the courts is now barred for more than 60 million American workers.”

An agreement for the acquisition of companies contained a provision requiring the parties to arbitrate disputes regarding the amount of working capital, but with a $3,000,000 cap. Disputes exceeding that amount were contractually excluded from arbitration. In Bobcat North America, LLC v. Inland Waste Holdings, the Delaware Superior Court rejected rejected a party’s attempt toContinue reading “Court Holds That Amount In Dispute Exceeded Contractual Threshold for Arbitration.”

A U.S. District Court in Florida has opined that it is up to the American Arbitration Association to decide whether a clearly arbitrable matter should be administered by AAA or FINRA. The arbitration provision at issue stated: “The Parties agree that all controversies, claims, disputes, and matters in question arising out of, or related toContinue reading “AAA Must Decide Whether It Or FINRA Should Be The Entity To Administer An Arbitration”

The Michigan Court of Appeals, in Tinsley v. Yatooma, has affirmed a law firm’s right to have a malpractice claim against it addressed in arbitration. Holding that nothing in Michigan’s attorney ethics rules prohibited arbitration of such matters, the court found the agreement to have been knowingly and voluntarily entered by the client.

This article–by Blaine Green and Dustin Chase-Woods of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and published in JD Supra–discussing the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Monster Energy Co. v. City Beverages, LLC, in which the U.S. Supreme Court recently denied certiorari, sets the stage as follows: “In Monster Energy, the Ninth Circuit broadly interpreted the Federal Arbitration Act’sContinue reading “Vacatur Of Arbitration Awards For Evident Partiality”

Cody Berne of Stoll Berne has this article discussing the the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Interactive Brokers LLC v. Saroop, holding that arbitrators did not manifestly disregard the law by considering breaches of FINRA rules that did not permit the assertion of a private cause of action.

Jeffrey Brown and Tyler Runge of Payne & Fears authored this article, published in JD Supra, which begins: “The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has recently issued a half-dozen decisions addressing the lawfulness of employee arbitration agreements. Employers should not ignore this body of law, which applies to union and non-union employers alike.”