A resource for litigators, in-house counsel, and arbitrators
Arbitration case law did not break any new ground in 2015. Instead, a larger sector of the public became aware of the ground already broken in 2011 and 2013, as well as how common arbitration is in professional sports.
Let’s review some of the attention-grabbing arbitration headlines of 2015. There was:
…
Before I can sum up 2015 in arbitration (next post!), I need to report on some new cases coming out of the federal and state appellate courts in recent weeks. Two are just good reminders of basic arbitration law, but the third addresses an interesting question of double recovery.
Our first “reminder” case comes from…
Just under the wire, SCOTUS released an arbitration opinion today, ensuring that 2015 would continue the string of years with cases interpreting the Federal Arbitration Act. In DIRECTV v. Imburgia, the Supreme Court found that California’s interpretation of an arbitration clause was preempted by the FAA. DIRECTV is a 6-3 decision, with Justice Kagan…
The Supreme Court of Hawaii ruled recently that if a neutral arbitrator fails to meet disclosure requirements, it constitutes “evident partiality” as a matter of law, and requires the vacatur of the arbitrator’s award. Furthermore, Hawaii interpreted its disclosure requirements broadly, and in this case found an arbitrator’s failure to disclose the “concrete possibility” of…