Benjamin Stearns on Federal Arbitration Act

Vacation of Arbitration Award for Manifest Disregard of the Law Is “Exceedingly Rare,” Requires “Egregious Impropriety”

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a petition to vacate a $65 million arbitration award based on the petitioner’s argument that the arbitrator’s decision was in “manifest disregard of the...more

9/3/2024 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Arbitrators , Attorney's Fees , Federal Arbitration Act , Manifest Disregard , Motion to Vacate

District Courts May Not “Look Through” Applications to Modify, Confirm, or Vacate Arbitral Awards

Ascension Data & Analytics LLC terminated its contract with Pairprep Inc. for data extraction services after an alleged data breach involving Pairprep’s servers and Pairprep’s alleged “failure to extract reliable data.”...more

8/9/2024 / Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , Data Breach , Data Privacy , Diversity Jurisdiction , Federal Arbitration Act , Preliminary Injunctions

Court Holds Federal Law Governs FAA Arbitration Dispute Related to Surplus Lines Insurance Contract, Compels Arbitration Under...

Harbor Homeowner’s Association Inc. sued its insurers in Louisiana state court seeking to recover damages allegedly caused by the insurers’ failure to pay claims related to Hurricane Ida. The insurers removed to federal...more

2/8/2024 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Choice-of-Law , Damages , Federal Arbitration Act , Insurance Claims , Insurance Contracts , Insurer Liability , Motion to Compel , New York Convention , Preemption , Property Damage , Surplus Lines Insurance

Eighth Circuit: Plaintiff Waives Right to Compel Arbitration by Filing Complaint and Litigating Dispute in Court

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration filed by the plaintiff in the matter. The court noted that arbitration “can be waived in a variety of circumstances, including...more

11/3/2023 / Appeals , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitrators , Complaint Procedures , Contract Terms , Court-Ordered Mediation , Federal Arbitration Act , Henry Schein Inc v Archer and White Sales Inc , Morgan v Sundance , Motion to Compel , Permanent Injunctions , Preliminary Injunctions , SCOTUS

FAA’s “Transportation Worker” Exemption Does Not Apply to Contracts Between Businesses

After a dispute arose between Amazon and one of its “delivery service partners,” Amazon sought to compel arbitration pursuant to an arbitration agreement in the companies’ contract. The district court ordered the parties to...more

9/22/2023 / Amazon , Arbitration Agreements , Delivery Drivers , Employment Contract , Federal Arbitration Act

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Notes That Review of Arbitration Awards Under the MPPAA is “Notably Less Deferential” than under...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court’s order confirming an arbitration award under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 (the “MPPAA”), noting in...more

12/9/2022 / Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , Employee Benefits , Federal Arbitration Act , Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) , Multiemployer Plan , Pensions , Withdrawal Liability

SDNY Confirms Unopposed Arbitration Award Using Summary Judgment Framework

A Turkish manufacturer of motor coaches entered into a distribution agreement with a Delaware-based corporation for the exclusive distribution of its motor coaches in the United States. Years later, a dispute arose over the...more

9/30/2022 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Federal Arbitration Act , International Arbitration

Seller Wins “Battle” to Apply FAA Over VUAA to Arbitration Dispute, but Loses “War” Over Award Confirmation

The case involved a seller of a 91% interest in a Virginia-based government contractor that provides overseas staffing and logistics support to government agencies. The parties’ sale contract contained a choice-of-law...more

9/8/2022 / Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , Contract Interpretation , Federal Arbitration Act

U.S. Supreme Court: FAA Preempts California Labor Law to Extent It Prevented Enforcement of Individual Arbitration Agreement

California’s Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) authorizes “aggrieved employees” to sue their employer on behalf of themselves “and other current or former employees” to obtain civil penalties that...more

6/24/2022 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Federal Arbitration Act , Labor Law Violations , Preemption , Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) , SCOTUS , Viking River Cruises , Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana

State Court Disregards State Law Authorizing Award of Attorneys’ Fees in Arbitration Dispute Governed by FAA

The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the denial of attorneys’ fees pursuant to section 38.243, N.R.S. and in association with the confirmation of an arbitration award. The Nevada statute provides “on application of a prevailing...more

4/28/2022 / Arbitration , Attorney's Fees , Federal Arbitration Act

First Circuit Clarifies Standard of Review and Evidentiary Proof Applicable to Motion to Compel Arbitration

Air-Con Inc. is a Puerto Rico corporation that specializes in the sale and distribution of air conditioners in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. A dispute arose between Air-Con and its supplier, Daikin Applied Latin America LLC....more

3/3/2022 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Federal Arbitration Act , Motion to Compel

District of Puerto Rico Holds Article II of the Convention on Foreign Arbitral Awards Preempts the McCarran-Ferguson Act

In a dispute over whether an international insurance policy provided coverage for losses resulting from a fire that destroyed the insured property, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico determined that the...more

7/22/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , Federal Arbitration Act , Insurance Industry , International Arbitration , McCarran-Ferguson Act

Parsing the Sometimes Fine Distinction Between a Broad and a Narrow Arbitration Clause

In an employment dispute, the District Court of Connecticut dissected an arbitration clause to determine whether its scope was “broad,” resulting in a presumption of arbitrability of collateral issues, or “narrow,” in which...more

12/10/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Employment Litigation , Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) , Federal Arbitration Act , Wage and Hour

Court Denies Motion To Compel Arbitration and To Appoint Arbitrators Where Parties Had Agreed To Arbitrate and There Was No...

In a case where both the plaintiffs and the defendant agreed the matter should be arbitrated, the Southern District of Ohio refused to compel arbitration and denied the plaintiffs’ motion for the appointment of arbitrators....more

10/28/2020 / American Arbitration Association , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitrators , Federal Arbitration Act , Jurisdiction , Motion to Compel

District Court Orders Insurer in Receivership to Arbitrate With Reinsurers, Rejecting Argument That Jurisdiction Rests With...

The District Court of Puerto Rico upheld a prior judgment ordering Integrand Assurance Co. to arbitrate its claims against its various reinsurers, rather than remand the case to the court overseeing Integrand’s receivership,...more

5/14/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Federal Arbitration Act , McCarran-Ferguson Act , Preemption , Puerto Rico , Receivership , Reinsurance

“Grossly Excessive” Arbitration Award Overturned Due to “Evident Material Miscalculation”

An arbitration award rendered pursuant to section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) was overturned upon a finding that the award was “grossly excessive” and based on an “evident material miscalculation.” ...more

3/13/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Award Challenges , Arbitration Awards , Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) , Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) , Employer Contributions , Federal Arbitration Act , Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA)

Court Finds No Manifest Disregard of the Law or Exceeding of Powers in Upholding Arbitration Award Related to Dispute Over...

Markmidco S.àr.l., a Luxembourg company, sold to Zeta Interactive Corp. its interest in a customer relationship management business consisting of several companies that provided to retailers email and text message marketing,...more

12/19/2019 / Abuse of Power , Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , Arbitrators , Choice-of-Law , Contract Terms , Earn-Outs , Federal Arbitration Act , Revenue , Threshold Requirements

First Circuit Affirms Denial of Vacatur of Arbitration Award, Rejects Arguments That Parties Opted Out of FAA and Arbitrator Erred

The First Circuit recently denied an appeal from the District of Puerto Rico’s refusal to vacate an arbitration award. The dispute centered on a management services agreement containing an arbitration agreement that required...more

9/9/2019 / AHLA , Appeals , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Binding Arbitration , Choice-of-Law , Contract Terms , Federal Arbitration Act , Healthcare , Manifest Disregard , Professional Misconduct , Puerto Rico , State Arbitration Acts , Vacatur

Court Compels Arbitration Under the New York Convention and Dismisses Case in Windstorm Insurance Claim Dispute

The underlying insurance policy was issued by Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London and contained an arbitration clause. The court applied the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (also...more

7/1/2019 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Dismissals , Federal Arbitration Act , Insurance Litigation , Lloyds of London , Motion to Compel , New York Convention , Policy Terms

Subject Matter Jurisdiction Under Section 7 Of The FAA – The Diversity, “Amount In Controversy,” And “Place Of Sitting”...

Presented with an argument that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction, the Southern District of New York clarified the diversity, amount in controversy, and “place of sitting” requirements under Section 7 of the FAA –...more

2/5/2019 / Amount in Controversy , Arbitration , Federal Arbitration Act , Insurance Litigation , Section 7 , Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Ninth Circuit Holds that Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Govern How to Calculate the FAA’s Three-Month Filing Deadline to Seek...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a petition to vacate an arbitration award because the petition was filed one day late. ...more

1/14/2019 / Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , Consumer Contracts , Contract Disputes , Federal Arbitration Act , Federal Rules of Civil Procedure , Statute of Limitations , Vacatur

Supreme Court Upholds Employee Individualized Arbitration Agreements Against Challenges Based On The National Labor Relations Act

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that agreements between an employer and an employee providing for individualized arbitration do not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). ...more

5/29/2018 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Class Action Arbitration Waivers , Epic Systems Corp v Lewis , Ernst & Young v Morris , Federal Arbitration Act , Murphy Oil v NLRB , NLRA , NLRB , Remand , Reversal , Savings Clause , SCOTUS

Benjamin Stearns

Carlton Fields

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