A resource for litigators, in-house counsel, and arbitrators
The Supreme Court of Missouri has issued two significant arbitration decisions in recent weeks, showing its willingness to sever any aspects of an arbitration agreement that it finds unconscionable (while enforcing the overall obligation to arbitrate).
First, in a contentious decision, the Supreme Court of Missouri found that a former employee of the St. Louis…
Two state supreme courts found consumer arbitration agreements unenforceable in the past week: Arkansas and New Jersey. Arkansas grounded its decision on the lack of mutuality in the consumer arbitration agreement (similar to Missouri’s recent ruling). Alltel Corp. v. Rosenow, 2014 WL 4656609 (Ark. Sept. 18, 2014). New Jersey grounded its decision on…
Cue the R.E.M folks, because the Supreme Court of Missouri issued a 4-3 opinion recently that appears to upend many employment arbitration agreements in that state. Baker v. Bristol Care, Inc., __ S.W.3d__, 2014 WL 4086378 (Mo. Aug. 19, 2014). However, the situation is not as dire as it may seem.
The high court…
You hear more about Lena Dunham than you expect, given the audience for “Girls”, right? (Read this article for more.) The same is true, or should be true, for the contract defense of illusoriness. After decades of disuse, it is popping up more and more often as a defense to the enforcement of arbitration clauses…
In most cases, if this blog mentions Concepcion, it means that a court has found a state statute or line of decisions is preempted by the FAA. A Maryland rule, however, recently ran the Concepcion gauntlet and survived. See Noohi v. Toll Bros., Inc., __ F.3d __, 2013 WL 680690 (4th Cir. Feb. 26,…