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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Certain Grubhub Inc. delivery drivers brought two putative collective and class actions asserting that they were misclassified as independent contractors, resulting in both federal and state wage and hour violations....more
In this time of concern regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, there are other challenges still confronting companies. One involves the standard for enforcing arbitration agreements involving transportation workers. Or, stated...more
4/6/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Automobile Passengers ,
Categorical Exemptions ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Drivers ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
GrubHub ,
Interstate Commerce ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Ridesharing ,
Small Business ,
Transportation Industry ,
Uber
Since Oct. 11, 2019, we have been blogging about California’s new anti-arbitration law and the injunctive action filed before Chief District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to enjoin it....more
On Jan. 10, 2020 Chief District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller further defined the scope, issues and duration of the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) she initially issued on Dec. 30, 2019....more
A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order halting the enforcement of Assembly Bill 51, California’s latest attempt to prevent arbitration of claims brought under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act....more
On Oct. 10, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law an attempt by California’s Legislature to limit arbitration of claims under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”). ...more
Recent decisions have cast doubt on the enforcement of arbitration clauses in the context of the interstate transportation of goods, but will those limitations extend to the transportation of passengers? ...more
Recent New York legislation in reaction to the #MeToo movement has sought to limit or foreclose arbitration of employment-related disputes. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 7515 (“§ 7515”) and its June 19, 2019, amendment, bill...more
After New Prime v. Oliveira, 139 S. Ct. 532 (2019), many wondered if state arbitration law could be applied when transportation workers were found to be exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) based on § 1. ...more
Sometimes being right is not a virtue, especially when it comes to the Federal Arbitration Act § 1 exemption. We predicted uncertainty after the New Prime v. Oliveira decision and got it....more
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that arbitration agreements must provide a “contractual basis for concluding that the part[ies] agreed to [class arbitration].” ...more
4/25/2019
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Arbitration ,
Consent ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lamps Plus Inc v Varela ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS
A Sept. 27, 2018, Kentucky Supreme Court ruling found that mandatory arbitration agreements conditioned on employment were not enforceable. See Northern Kentucky Area Development District v. Snyder, No. 2017-SC-000277-DG. ...more