In recent months, three federal circuit courts have confronted this question: can a defendant compel arbitration even in the absence of a signed written agreement containing an arbitration clause? The answers were yes, no, and maybe, but the analysis in all three turns on whether the party resisting arbitration should reasonably have known that an arbitration clause was part of the deal.
Last weekend was Father’s Day and I took note of two stories that seemed useful in mediation. The first, was on CBS Sunday Morning where the editorial piece reflected upon how student athletes, from Little League through College, end each game, however hard fought, with a handshake and a “high five”.
Today the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in another case involving the Federal Arbitration Act. The case, Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, comes from the Ninth Circuit and raises a variation of the question from Sutter….
The Supreme Court of Mississippi issued a new opinion that sheds light on a topic that doesn’t come up often: when can an arbitration award be modified due to miscalculation? D.W. Caldwell, Inc. v. W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co., 2018 WL 2146355 (Miss. May 10, 2018).
SCOTUS finally delivered its decision today in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the consolidated case that addresses whether employers can require employees to give up their right to class or consolidated litigation as part of an arbitration agreement….
A recent decision from the 10th Circuit shows there is a whole new way to invalidate an arbitration agreement. In Citizen Potawatomi Nation v. Oklahoma, 2018 WL 718606 (10th Cir. Feb. 6, 2018), the court found the arbitration agreement unenforceable….
The Supreme Court of Nebraska gave an unpleasant surprise to its trial court judges last week: they cannot enforce arbitration agreements sua sponte….
In a recent opinion, the Fourth Circuit cited waiver as its basis to refuse to compel arbitration, but the result seems animated by a sense that the arbitration agreements were unenforceable….
Two cases recently fit in one of my favorite categories: those awards that get “un-vacated.” These cases went through arbitration, had that arbitration award vacated by a district court, only to have the award later resurrected by an appellate court….
If I had to choose a favorite subset of arbitration cases, it might be the ones that come after SCOTUS remands to a state supreme court. How does a state high court full of accomplished professionals, the cream of the legal crop in their state, respond after the U.S. Supreme Court has found their previous arbitration opinion was flawed….
