One way to challenge the very existence of an agreement to arbitrate is to say that the parties’ contract said nothing about arbitration and did not validly incorporate any other document calling for arbitration. Oklahoma and Alabama have recently come out at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of what kind of notice must
Alabama
Rare Claim Falls Outside Arbitration Agreement, Creates Piecemeal Litigation
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Scope of Arbitration Agreement
Because of the strong federal policy favoring arbitration, and cases providing that any doubt about the scope of an arbitration agreement must be resolved in favor of arbitration, it is uncommon to find a decision holding that the parties’ claims are not within the scope of their arbitration agreement. But, the Supreme Court of Alabama …
Alabama Confirms Arbitrators' Grant of Judgment As A Matter of Law
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Appealing Arbitration Decisions
Just as SCOTUS held its nose and confirmed an arbitration award it thought stunk in Sutter, the Supreme Court of Alabama has confirmed an arbitration award made after only the claimant presented evidence and grounded in a possible misunderstanding of Alabama law. Tucker v. Ernst & Young, __ So.3d__, 2014 WL 2619860 (Ala. June…