John Lewis at BakerHostetler

Coinbase Inc. v. Bielski - Supreme Court Holds Oral Argument on the Issue of Whether an Interlocutory Appeal of the Denial of a...

The Coinbase case involves a joint petition for writ of certiorari that could have a major impact on motions to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, Case No. 22-105 (oral...more

3/27/2023 / Appeals , Arbitration , Automatic Stay , Coinbase , Crypto Exchanges , Cryptocurrency , Federal Arbitration Act , Interlocutory Appeals , Motion to Compel , Petition for Writ of Certiorari , SCOTUS , Stays

A Recent DoorDash Opinion Addresses Several Pivotal Arbitration Issues

Two DoorDash delivery drivers filed a class action against the company and two of its employees alleging violations of federal and state wage and hour laws. After removal of the case to the Southern District of New York, the...more

1/24/2023 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Class Action , Class Action Arbitration Waivers , DoorDash , Federal Arbitration Act , Independent Contractors , Motion to Compel , Service Contracts , Unenforceable Contract Terms

Second Circuit Again Considers if Bakery Goods Drivers Are Excluded Under the FAA Because They Are “Transportation Workers”. The...

While the Supreme Court’s opinion in Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, 142 S. Ct. 1783 (2022), brought needed clarity to the analysis of the class of workers excluded as “transportation workers” by the residual clause of the...more

10/7/2022 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Commercial Truck Drivers , Delivery Drivers , Distributors , Drivers , Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) , Federal Arbitration Act , Independent Contractors , Putative Class Actions , Southwest Airlines , Transportation Industry , Unjust Enrichment , Unpaid Wages

Supreme Court Resolves Whether an Airline Ramp Supervisor Falls Within the Transportation Worker Exemption of the FAA

For years courts have been struggling to determine the proper application of the Section 1 exemption of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). See 9 U.S.C. § 1. Now the U.S. Supreme Court has brought some clarity to the analysis....more

6/9/2022 / Airlines , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Exemptions , Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) , Federal Arbitration Act , Interstate Commerce , Putative Class Actions , SCOTUS , Southwest Airlines , Wage and Hour

The Vote is In, FAA Sections 9 And 10 Do Not Provide “Look-Through” Jurisdiction to Confirm or Modify Arbitral Awards

Our prior blog articles predicted that the outcome in Badgerow v. Walters, No. 20-1143, might turn on whether the plain text of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) or its purposes would prevail. See our June 16 and Nov. 9, 2021...more

4/6/2022 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Federal Arbitration Act , Federal Jurisdiction , SCOTUS , Subject Matter Jurisdiction

The Fifth Circuit Now Considers Who Are ‘Parties’ in an FAA Action to Compel Arbitration

In two prior blogs, we have focused on a dispute over federal court jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an arbitration award under Section 9 and Section 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The dispute resulted in a Fifth...more

11/24/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Federal Arbitration Act , Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court Argument Only Underscored the Complexities of Federal Court Jurisdiction Over Arbitration Awards

One might expect that the plain text of a statutory provision would be in line with the overall goal of the law. But when that statute is the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), it’s not necessarily the case. And many people even...more

11/11/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Federal Arbitration Act

The Fifth Circuit Again Considers the ‘Forby’ Case and When the Right To Arbitrate Is Waived Based on an Amended Complaint

As we have said in the past, determining when a party waives its right to arbitrate is never easy and the nuanced standards vary among the circuits. Now a case that has come to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit...more

10/11/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

While the Ninth Circuit Added Clarity in Its Recent Uber Opinion, Legislative Challenges to Mandatory Arbitration May Be Ahead

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel ruled that Uber Technologies drivers don’t fall within the Section 1 exemption of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to mandatory arbitration because they are not a class of...more

8/11/2021 / Arbitration , Class Action , Employee Definition , Federal Arbitration Act , Uber

Arbitration Agreement with Conflicting Provision in Two Languages Saved by FAA Default Rule

The California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District recently added clarity to a somewhat puzzling trial court decision that had sent an employment dispute to nonbinding arbitration. See Western Bagel Co. Inc. v....more

7/23/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Federal Arbitration Act , Putative Class Actions

Has the 11th Circuit Clarified the Transportation Worker Exemption of the FAA or Just Created a Circuit Split?

In a published June 22 opinion, the Eleventh Circuit laid out a clear test for the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) Section 1 exemption. It answered the reoccurring question “Who is a transportation worker?” See Hamrick v....more

7/20/2021 / Arbitration , Class Action , Dispute Resolution , Federal Arbitration Act

The Supreme Court Now To Determine the Boundaries of Federal Court Jurisdiction Over Federal Arbitration Act Proceedings

The U.S. Supreme Court has now granted certiorari to decide if federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an arbitration award under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), Sections 9 and 10. 9 U.S.C. §§...more

6/17/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , Certiorari , Corporate Counsel , Federal Arbitration Act , Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) , SCOTUS , Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Opinion of Wisconsin District Judge Again Illustrates that Arbitration Is a Creature of Contract

In deciding a reoccurring issue, Judge James D. Peterson of the Western District of Wisconsin found no valid arbitration agreement existed, because of a disclaimer in a 48-page employee handbook. See O’Bryan v. Pember...more

5/18/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Class Action , Employee Handbooks , Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Can You Waive Appellate Review of an Arbitration Award? The Fourth Circuit Says Yes

Many arbitration agreements address the finality of any resulting award, with differing and sometimes vague language. A number of readers might assume that regardless of the agreement language, federal courts still retain...more

4/13/2021 / Appellate Review , Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , Waivers

Order Sending Former Mail Sorter to Arbitration Teaches Some Lessons About Who Is a Transportation Worker and Agreement Coverage

Since 2019, we have been tracking the decisions struggling to interpret the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) Section 1 exemption for transportation workers. In other words, we’ve looked at who qualifies as a...more

3/2/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , California , Employees , Federal Arbitration Act , Transportation Industry

Implicit Waiver of The Right to Arbitrate by Litigation – A Massachusetts District Court Addresses The Factors

Complex cases can present difficult legal issues but may also illuminate how courts evaluate questions such as when a party has waived its right to arbitrate. This is true regardless of the type of claims presented because...more

2/19/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitrators , Class Action , Sherman Act , Waivers

Once More Before the High Court – Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer And White Sales, Inc. – But New Questions Emerge

We know now under Epic Systems that arbitration agreements with class action waivers can be enforced, but questions continue to emerge from specific arbitral agreements and instances where they are silent on certain issues,...more

12/11/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Henry Schein Inc v Archer and White Sales Inc , Oral Argument , Remand , SCOTUS

Food Delivery Driver Opinion Sheds More Light on the FAA Exemption and Use of CPR Arbitration Rules

Plaintiff Jacob McGrath filed a nationwide Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) action ultimately involving approximately 4,000 food delivery drivers for DoorDash Inc. alleging that the drivers, known as “Dashers,” were...more

11/12/2020 / American Arbitration Association , Class Action , Delivery Drivers , DoorDash , Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) , Federal Arbitration Act , Independent Contractors

Fifth Circuit Holds That Plaintiffs Too Can Waive Their Right To Arbitrate by Litigation

Few decisions have considered when a plaintiff waives his right to arbitrate through litigation conduct, but the Fifth Circuit has now done so for the second time. In Sabatelli v. Baylor Scott & White Health, Case No....more

10/29/2020 / ADEA , Age Discrimination , Arbitration , Corporate Counsel , Disability Discrimination

Florida Decision Involving Workers Unable to Read English Illustrates the Basics for an Enforceable Arbitration Agreement

Sometimes, a decision can detail the requirements for an enforceable employee arbitration agreement better than a legal treatise. That is certainly true in Gustave v. SBE ENT Holdings, LLC, No. 1:19-cv-23961 (S.D. Fla. Sept....more

10/8/2020 / ADEA , Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) , Arbitration Agreements , Civil Rights Act

John Lewis

BakerHostetler

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