Last Thursday, the Second Circuit found that the arbitration agreement in Uber’s Terms of Service was conspicuous enough to be binding and enforceable. As a result, the claims of a putative class of consumers will be dismissed unless they can show that Uber waived its right to arbitrate their claims. Meyer v. Uber Technologies, Inc.
While state courts have been busy articulating novel interpretations of arbitration law this summer, federal courts seem intent on getting back to basics. In recent weeks, federal appellate courts have reminded parties who has the burden of proving an agreement to arbitrate, what should happen to the case when arbitration gets compelled, how parties waive
Two courts recently refused to compel arbitration because the defendants could not prove that the parties had entered into an arbitration agreement at all. Therefore, the musical accompaniment to this post is “Do Re Mi” from The Sound of Music. “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you read,
In a beautifully written opinion, the Tenth Circuit examined an under-used aspect of the Federal Arbitration Act this week: having a jury or court trial. Usually disputes about arbitrability can be determined on a motion akin to summary judgment, but the FAA states in Section Four: “If the making of the arbitration agreement or the
The Sixth Circuit recently answered a question I get asked regularly: does an arbitration clause survive the termination of the contract containing it? I usually say yes, and thankfully the Sixth Circuit backed me up.
In Huffman v. The Hilltop Cos., LLC, __ F.3d __, 2014 WL 1243795 (6th Cir. March 27, 2014), a class
BY JEFF MASON
The First and Ninth Circuits recently issued opinions concerning the validity of state laws requiring “informed consent” to, or “full disclosure” of, arbitration clauses in attorney retainer agreements. Although the First Circuit found its way around the issue, the Ninth Circuit took it squarely on, holding that such requirements, at least as
I see more and more arbitration agreements that contain their own limitations period (the timeline for bringing a dispute in arbitration). Are all of those necessarily enforceable? No.
In Order of United Commercial Travelers of America v. Wolfe, 331 U.S. 586 (1947), the Supreme Court held that contracts may shorten the statute of limitations
This is unheard of! There were two circuit court decisions finding no binding agreement to arbitrate in a single week. (The first is here.) In this new decision from the Third Circuit, an employer’s submission of forms to a union fund along with fringe benefits is held insufficient to compel that employer to arbitration
In a fascinating decision, the Second Circuit has ruled that an internet merchant cannot compel arbitration with a consumer, when it only emailed the consumer the arbitration agreement after the consumer agreed to the purchase, without any requirement that the consumer affirmatively assent to the term.
In Schnabel v. Trilegiant Corp., __ F.3d __,
The Eleventh Circuit has decided to proactively preempt Florida law, before it could get in the way of the FAA by favoring class arbitrations (despite contract language precluding them).
In Pendergast v. Sprint Nextel Corp., __ F.3d. __, 2012 WL 3553466 (11th Cir. Aug. 20, 2012), a wireless customer wanted to bring a class action