Last Thursday, the Second Circuit found that the arbitration agreement in Uber’s Terms of Service was conspicuous enough to be binding and enforceable. As a result, the claims of a putative class of consumers will be dismissed unless they can show that Uber waived its right to arbitrate their claims. Meyer v. Uber Technologies, Inc.
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Six Arbitration Trends In 2017 (6th Blogiversary Post)
This is my 290th post at ArbitrationNation and today I celebrate six years of blogging. Woo hoo — that’s longer than most celebrity marriages! In honor of the occasion, here are updates on six of the hottest issues in arbitration law so far this year.
- Agency regulation of arbitration agreements. On the one hand, the
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Maryland's Highest Court Finds Small Claims Court Action Waived Right To Arbitrate
It is not uncommon for lenders to exempt small claims actions from their arbitration provisions. The question confronted by the Court of Appeals of Maryland in a recent case was: when a lender opts for small claims court, does that waive any later right to enforce the arbitration clause? The court’s answer was yes, if…
New Jersey Says Non-Payment Of Arbitration Fees is Breach of Agreement
The New Jersey Supreme Court refused to allow a respondent to benefit from its refusal to pay arbitration fees in Roach v. BM Motoring, LLC, 2017 WL 931430 (NJ March 9, 2017).
First, Ms. Jackson filed a demand for arbitration against a New Jersey car dealership with the AAA. The parties’ arbitration agreement required the…
Kardashians Kept Out of Arbitration (and other recent arbitration news)
Just three weeks into the year and already my pile of arbitration cases is a skyscraper! So, I will cover a lot of ground in this update.
First, the headline. Kimberly, Kourtney, and Khloe Kardashian moved to compel arbitration, although they were not signatories to the arbitration agreement. Kroma Makeup EU v. Boldface Licensing +…
After Five Years In Court, West Virginia Finds Plaintiff Did Not Waive Right To Arbitrate
The highest state court in West Virginia just found that a credit card company did not waive its right to arbitrate, despite initially choosing a court forum and waiting almost five years to raise its right to arbitrate. That is a somewhat surprising decision from a court that has been repeatedly willing to buck SCOTUS…
Futility Trumps Waiver of Arbitration Rights in Third Circuit
Echoing a holding already issued by four other circuits, the Third Circuit recently found that a defendant does not waive its right to arbitration by continuing to litigate in court, if the reason it failed to move to compel arbitration is that the motion would have been futile. Chassen v. Fidelity Nat’l Fin., Inc.,…
Federal Courts Teach Arbitration 101 In Recent Opinions
While state courts have been busy articulating novel interpretations of arbitration law this summer, federal courts seem intent on getting back to basics. In recent weeks, federal appellate courts have reminded parties who has the burden of proving an agreement to arbitrate, what should happen to the case when arbitration gets compelled, how parties waive…
Class Rep Can Opt Out of Arbitration for All (And Other Recent State Court Anomalies)
Continuing last week’s theme of “States Gone Wild,” here are three more oddball summer decisions from state supreme courts. All of them find interesting paths around federal case law (IMHO).
Georgia Says Class Complaint Is Deemed Arbitration Opt Out For All Class Members
In Bickerstaff v. SunTrust Bank, 2016 WL 3693778 (Ga. July 8,…
Eight [Months] Is Enough — To Waive Your Arbitration Rights
Today’s post is brought to you by the number 8. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a new opinion yesterday finding that a defendant who litigated in court for 8 months waived its right to arbitrate (aka, ARBITR8) plaintiff’s employment claims. [That could be my vanity plate!!]
Messina v. North Central…