Statutes of limitations provide peace of mind for many attorneys and clients, knowing previous conduct cannot lead to liability after a prescribed time period. But, do statutes of limitations apply to arbitration proceedings? The answer is: not necessarily. Because of that, advocates and parties need to know when statutes of limitation may apply as well
Out On A Limb, 7th Circuit Creates Circuit Split Over Class Arbitration For Employees
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Class Arbitration
Of all the federal circuit courts, I was not expecting the 7th Circuit to venture out on a limb to support the NLRB’s interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) as precluding class arbitration waivers. After all, the 7th Circuit gets affirmed more than other circuit courts by SCOTUS, earning it a reputation for…
Exhibit C For The Case That California Is No Longer Anti-Arbitration
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Validity of Arbitration Agreement
The Supreme Court of California this week enforced the arbitration agreement between an employee and employer. Yes, you read that right. While reputed to be reliably anti-arbitration, California’s highest court continues to provide evidence that it is tired of being reversed by SCOTUS * and is ready to follow federal precedent on the FAA.
In…
In 3 Recent Decisions, Supreme Court of Arkansas Deeply Divided on Arbitration
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Validity of Arbitration Agreement
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…
Montana Finds Arbitration Agreement Unconscionable For Lack of Mutuality
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Validity of Arbitration Agreement
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.
SCOTUS Vacates Second Arbitration Case This Term
By Liz Kramer on
Showing it will soldier on without Justice Scalia, the Supreme Court granted cert, vacated, and remanded an arbitration decision from West Virginia yesterday. Because this is the exact same treatment the Court gave a case from Hawaii’s highest court in January (and the same treatment I predicted, ahem), it suggests SCOTUS is trying to go…
Scalia Sizzled on Arbitration
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Year In Review
Justice Scalia wrote some blockbuster decisions about arbitration, enforcing arbitration agreements regardless of their real-world impact, and making a potentially dry topic exciting and contentious. Readers of his opinions knew from the first few paragraphs of the analysis how the case was coming out. If he was bench-slapping a lower court for its interpretation of…
Three Appellate Courts Remand for Trial on Existence of Agreement to Arbitrate
By Liz Kramer on
Posted in Validity of Arbitration Agreement
Most questions of arbitrability can be resolved on motion, using a summary judgment-like standard. However, just like summary judgment, if there are genuine disputes of material fact about whether a claim must be arbitrated — like competing evidence about whether the parties ever formed an arbitration agreement — those should be determined by a trial. …
January Arbitration Update: Effective Vindication, Class Arbitration, and FAA Preemption
By Liz Kramer on
Lots of interesting arbitration law has been made already in 2016, so here is a roundup from the first four weeks of the year. As a teaser, courts have breathed life into the effective vindication doctrine, found arbitrators cannot determine the availability of class actions, and found state laws not preempted. More surprisingly, state courts…
3 Year-End Arbitration Lessons From Appellate Courts
By Liz Kramer on
Before I can sum up 2015 in arbitration (next post!), I need to report on some new cases coming out of the federal and state appellate courts in recent weeks. Two are just good reminders of basic arbitration law, but the third addresses an interesting question of double recovery.
Our first “reminder” case comes from…