Using a different analysis, but reaching the same result as a recent decision from the Seventh Circuit, the Eleventh Circuit agreed that a defendant could not compel arbitration of consumer claims before the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Nation in South Dakota. Inetianbor v. CashCall, __ F.3d__, 2014 WL 4922225 (11th Cir. Oct.
On October 1, new Commercial Arbitration Rules became effective at the American Arbitration Association (AAA). These rules are likely to apply to all commercial arbitrations filed on and after October 1 (unless an arbitration agreement specifically provides for old rules). The AAA posted its own summary of the changes. Four of the most notable
In a dispute over how faithful a court must be to the parties’ arbitration agreement when it is asked to resolve an impasse in arbitrator selection under Section 5 of the FAA, the Fifth Circuit decided the court must give effect to the letter of the agreement, even if that defies its spirit.
In BP
In a 2-1 decision, the Third Circuit held last week that the arbitration agreement in a personal computer purchase was valid, despite its mandate of a defunct arbitral forum. Its decision, Khan v. Dell Inc., ___ F.3d ___, 2012 WL 163899 (3d Cir. Jan. 20, 2012), is in line with the decision of the
Earlier in 2011, courts in both Pennsylvania and Illinois issued decisions finding that when a consumer’s arbitration agreement called for the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) to administer the arbitration, but the NAF no longer administered consumer disputes, the arbitration agreements were unenforceable. Those courts found the parties’ choice of NAF was “integral” to the arbitration