During the past several decades, many businesses have selected arbitration as an alternative method for resolving many types of commercial disputes. As a result, numerous commercial contracts and licensing agreements include a clause requiring arbitration as the exclusive method for resolving disputes
|
Publications
-
09.25.2023Another Court Rejects a Company’s Attempt To Avoid Mass-Arbitration FeesUpdatesThe U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is the latest court to require a company to pay millions of dollars in fees to adjudicate mass arbitrations. Judge Harry D. Leinenweber compelled Samsung Electronics America, Inc., and Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd. to arbitrate according to Samsung’s Terms & Conditions and ordered Samsung to pay over $4 million in initial fees to the American Arbitration Association before the merits of any individual claims are considered.
-
06.27.2023Supreme Court Requires Stay Pending Appeal of Arbitration DenialUpdatesOn June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal district courts must stay all proceedings pending appellate review of an order denying a motion to compel arbitration.
-
05.31.2022Supreme Court Holds That Prejudice Is Not Part of an Arbitration Waiver Analysis Under the FAAUpdatesThe U.S. Supreme Court, in a May 23 decision, ruled that the federal policy favoring arbitration does not authorize federal courts to impose a prejudice requirement when evaluating whether a party has waived its right to arbitration by litigating in court.
-
04.14.2022Consumer Protection Takeaways From ABA Antitrust MeetingArticles
Law360
Consumer protection issues generated a lively discussion at the American Bar Association's 70th Antitrust Law Spring Meeting, held April 5-8 in Washington, as thousands of practitioners, enforcers, academics and jurists from around the world interacted in person for the first time since 2019. -
04.13.2022The Ninth Circuit Addresses Website Design for Enforceable Terms of ServiceUpdatesOn April 5, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refined the standard for enforcing terms of service presented on websites via hyperlinks.
-
04.07.2022Supreme Court Limits Federal Courts’ Jurisdiction to Enforce Arbitration AwardsUpdatesThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts cannot enforce or vacate arbitration awards under Sections 9 and 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act.
-
09.24.2021The Purpose, A Purpose? Because of Litigation Concerns? Ninth Circuit Adopts Stringent Test for Dual-Purpose CommunicationsUpdatesWhen are communications with counsel that are for both legal advice and business purposes protected by the attorney-client privilege?
-
02.19.2013Check Your Arbitration Agreements After New Washington Supreme Court CaseUpdatesA recent Washington Supreme Court case, Gandee v. LDL Freedom Enterprises, Inc., No. 87674-6 (Feb. 7, 2013), provides important insights into how Washington courts approach the enforceability of arbitration agreements in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s seminal decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 131 S. Ct. 1740 (2011).
-
11.20.2012Supreme Court to Hear Another Case on Class Arbitration WaiversUpdatesOn November 9, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider the enforceability of a class action waiver clause in agreements between American Express and merchants that accepted its cards. The merchants filed a proposed class action suit against Amex, alleging that its “Honor All Cards” policy—which required stores to accept Amex’s charge cards as well as its credit cards—violated federal antitrust law.
-
04.29.2011Supreme Court Holds California Consumer Class Action Waiver EnforceableUpdates
In AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that arbitration provisions governed by the Federal Arbitration Act may disallow class action proceedings. In doing so, the Court disapproved the California Supreme Court's decision in Discover Bank v. Superior Court, which held that a consumer arbitration provision prohibiting class arbitration was unconscionable and unenforceable.
-
04.29.2011Supreme Court Holds That Consumer Arbitration Agreements Can Bar Class Action ReliefUpdatesIn AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, No. 09-893, the U.S. Supreme Court validated consumer contracts with arbitration clauses containing class action waivers. This decision may cause companies that do not have arbitration provisions in their consumer contracts to add them in order to limit or avoid class actions.
-
05.17.2010Second Circuit Affirms Arbitral Award Ordering Costs, Including Attorneys’ Fees, Despite Contractual Provision Requiring Each Party to Bear Its Own ExpensesUpdatesParties often seek to modify the default rule that arbitrators may award costs, including attorneys’ fees, as part of the final award by providing that each party shall bear its own costs.
-
05.03.2010When Silence Is Not Consent: Supreme Court Says Sophisticated Business Parties Must Affirmatively Consent to Resolve Disputes Through Classwide ArbitrationUpdatesIn Stolt-Nielsen, S.A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., No. 08-1198 (U.S. Apr. 27, 2010), the U.S. Supreme Court placed a significant roadblock in the path of commercial parties who desire to use arbitration as a vehicle to obtain classwide relief.
Presentations
-
01.30.2020Arbitration Agreements and Restrictive Covenants - Perspectives on What Is Now Enforceable and What Is NotSpeaking EngagementsAmerican Conference Institute / New York, NY
