What could be a better subject for a Black Friday weekend post than the Cabbage Patch Kids??! Especially if you are old enough to remember the 1980s… Whether you loved or hated the smushed-face dolls, the point of this post is that the 11th Circuit confirmed an arbitration award in their favor, showing significant deference
Liz Kramer
Liz Kramer current serves as Minnesota's Solicitor General. Previously, she was a partner at Stinson Leonard Street and the founder of the award-winning blog, ArbitrationNation.
Resistance Or Retaining Shred of Dignity? Kentucky Responds On Kindred
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Validity of Arbitration Agreement
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…
The Arbitration Resistance May Look Like This… (Post #300)
By Liz Kramer on
What happens when state courts disagree with SCOTUS’s interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act? They resist, and they have a thousand different ways of doing so. The Mississippi Supreme Court demonstrated one way to resist recently in Pedigo v. Robertson, Rent-A-Center, Inc., 2017 WL 4838243 (Miss. Oct. 26, 2017). (I neglected to mention the…
Congress Quashes CFPB Arbitration Rule: What Next?
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Year In Review
Pencils down. (Is the modern equivalent “cursors down”?) All the attorneys who were drafting new form consumer agreements to comply with the CFPB rule prohibiting class action waivers can now trash those documents. Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, the Senate voted 51-50 last night (with the VP as tie-breaker) to nullify the CFPB’s rule. …
Enforcing Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements Post-Kindred
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Validity of Arbitration Agreement
Just five months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on a nursing home arbitration dispute in Kindred Nursing Centers v. Clark. It held that the Kentucky supreme court’s rationale for not enforcing the arbitration agreement was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. Before that, multiple state courts had found state law bases for…
Non-Signatories Succeed In Compelling Arbitration In State Courts
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Validity of Arbitration Agreement
The high courts of two states have allowed non-signatories to compel arbitration in recent weeks. The cases show courts are addressing non-signatory issues using different standards and raise important drafting issues for joint ventures and business affiliates.
In Locklear Automotive Group, Inc. v. Hubbard, 2017 WL 4324852 (Alabama Sept. 29, 2017), the Supreme Court…
Courts Lose Jurisdiction To Vacate Arbitration Award After Three Months
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Appealing Arbitration Decisions
The Nebraska Supreme Court recently had the unenviable task of determining whether the three month time period that the FAA provides for vacating an arbitration award is a statute of limitation (subject to tolling) or is jurisdictional. In Karo v. Nau Country Ins. Co., 2017 WL 4185426 (Neb. Sept. 22, 2017), it found that…
Third Parties Fail To Force Arbitration in Three Circuits
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Scope of Arbitration Agreement
The “Summer of Arbitration” draws to a close tomorrow, if you can believe it. (On the first day of fall, it is supposed to be 91 degrees in Minnesota. Yikes.) But before I close that chapter, let’s take a look at a theme that emerged in these last weeks: non-signatories losing their attempts to compel…
Lessons From Two Auto Dealer Arbitrations About Nonsignatories
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Scope of Arbitration Agreement
In two recent decisions, the Alabama Supreme Court made clear that if an arbitration clause specifies it only applies to disputes between the two parties who sign the clause, that will be strictly enforced. No third party can enforce the arbitration agreement.
In Nissan N. Am. v. Scott, 2017 WL 3446129 (Ala. Aug. 11,…
Un-Vacated: Nevada Supreme Court Confirms $6.7M Franchise Arbitration Award
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Appealing Arbitration Decisions
In a decision that is very skinny on the facts, a unanimous Nevada Supreme Court recently un-vacated a significant arbitration award in a dispute over dental franchises. In Half Dental Franchise, LLC v. Houchin, 2017 WL 3326425 (Nev. Aug. 3, 2017), the court found the arbitrators did not exceed their power in exercising authority…