A resource for litigators, in-house counsel, and arbitrators
Happy August! What’s a better way to start the month than thinking about class arbitrability! Again. Ugh.
Trust me, I would much rather consider so many other exciting arbitration issues, but this one seems to be occupying a lot of court attention, so I’d be remiss not to report on it.
Since my last update,…
Every time I think the spate of state supreme court opinions about nursing home arbitration surely must be over, another one comes out to prove me wrong. Last week, it was one from Alabama, finding an arbitration agreement was never formed, because the resident lacked capacity and the daughter who signed on his behalf…
Despite how often I talk about whack-a-mole and the tug-of-war between the state courts and SCOTUS on arbitration, the truth is that the majority of state supreme courts follow SCOTUS’s arbitration precedent (whether holding their noses or not, we don’t know). Recent weeks have given us multiple of those pro-arbitration state court decisions to highlight…
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…
While the Supreme Court has put off hearing a more contentious arbitration case until the fall (presumably in hopes that it will have nine justices by then), tomorrow it will hear the nursing home arbitration case from Kentucky. I look forward to listening to the questions and trying to figure out why the Justices granted …
Lest anyone think that the preemption doctrine in arbitration has gone dormant, today’s cases should set the record straight. Courts have recently found the FAA preempted state rules in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Alabama.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that one of its rules of civil procedure was preempted by the FAA in Taylor v…
The Supreme Court of Arkansas has issued three opinions within the span of four weeks, all on the topic of whether defendants can compel arbitration. Each of the opinions came with a vigorous dissent. The cases offer an interesting look at a state high court that appears to be struggling to deal with FAA case…
March comes in like a lion, right? Well, that’s not true with respect to the weather here in Minneapolis. But it may be true with respect to arbitration decisions from around the country. This post focuses on two recent decisions from state high courts that refuse to compel arbitration.
In Global Client Solutions, LLC v.
Some arbitration topics just never die. This post strings together new cases on three of those topics: 1) whether arbitration agreements that call for the now-defunct National Arbitration Forum (NAF) are enforceable; 2) formation fights in nursing home agreements; and 3) the continuing fight between the NLRB and the courts over class action waivers in…
The issue in analyzing whether a party waived its right to arbitrate is usually whether the defendant waited too long to assert the arbitration obligation. But, this week the Second Circuit had the opportunity to address whether a plaintiff waives its right to arbitrate by the simple fact of bringing a case in court.
In…