Benjamin Stearns at Carlton Fields

Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Case Involving Foreign Arbitration Award Based on Comity for French Appellate Ruling and Quasi...

The parties entered into a contract under which the plaintiff Cerner Middle East Limited would provide hardware, software, and services to iCapital S/E to facilitate iCapital’s fulfillment of a contract that it had been...more

10/17/2019 / Arbitration , Arbitration Award Challenges , Arbitration Awards , Comity , Contract Terms , Dismissals , Failure To Pay , France , International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) , Jurisdiction , Lack of Jurisdiction , Reasonableness Factors , Service Contracts , Suppliers

Ninth Circuit Affirms Confirmation of Arbitration Award, Finding Plaintiffs Failed to Show Prejudice From Denial of Discovery

Pro se plaintiffs Henry and Ijeamaka Ekweani characterized a district court’s confirmation of an arbitration award against them and in favor of American Express Travel Related Services as a “rubber stamp” that violated their...more

9/26/2019 / Abuse of Discretion , Appeals , Arbitration Awards , Discovery Disputes , Due Process , Reaffirmation , Unfair Prejudice

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

National Credit Union Administration Gives Credit Unions the Green Light to Serve Lawfully Operating Businesses

On August 20, 2019, the National Credit Union Administration issued a regulatory alert to all federally insured credit unions providing "interim guidance" regarding the service of hemp businesses by credit unions. The alert,...more

8/27/2019 / Anti-Money Laundering , Bank Secrecy Act , BSA/AML , Cannabis Products , Controlled Substances Act , Credit Unions , Farm Bill , Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) , Financial Services Industry , Hemp , Interim Guidance , Lenders , Marijuana Related Businesses , NCUA , Small Business Loans , Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) , USDA

Five Federal Financial Agency Heads Issue Letters Regarding Provision of Financial Services to the Hemp Industry

The heads of five federal financial agencies have issued letters in response to a request from Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) for guidance related to the financial services sector's ability to serve the hemp industry. Although...more

8/20/2019 / Agricultural Sector , Controlled Substances , FDIC , Financial Regulatory Agencies , Financial Services Industry , Hemp , NCUA

Fifth Circuit Determines That Louisiana Nonresident Attachment Statute Allows for Attachment in Aid of Arbitration

On second rehearing and after submitting a question to the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit determined that the Louisiana nonresident attachment statute allows for attachment in aid of arbitration. The underlying...more

8/15/2019 / Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , LA Supreme Court , Money Judgment , Writ of Attachment

Court Refuses to Treat Unopposed Petition to Confirm Arbitration Award as a Motion for Default Judgment, Reviews the Merits of the...

The case involved an AAA arbitration centering on the lack of performance under an exclusive distributorship agreement (EDA) that a medical supplier signed with a product manufacturer. The supplier failed to order sufficient...more

7/25/2019 / American Arbitration Association , Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , Default Judgment , Fraudulent Inducement , Manufacturers , Medical Devices , Medical Supplies , Parole Evidence , Pharmaceutical Industry , Sales & Distribution Agreements , Suppliers

Florigrown v. DOH: Florida’s Vertical Integration Requirement for Medical Marijuana Licensees Held Unconstitutional

This week, the Florida First District Court of Appeal held that the vertical integration requirement of Florida’s medical marijuana licensing scheme contravenes the 2016 constitutional amendment passed by Florida voters to...more

7/11/2019 / Appeals , Constitutional Challenges , Dispensaries , Florida , Licensing Rules , Marijuana , Marijuana Cultivation , Marijuana Related Businesses , Medical Marijuana , State and Local Government , State Constitutions , Vertical Integration

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

Confidential Reinsurance Agreement Made Public After Party Failed to Show Good Cause for Maintaining Confidentiality

A reinsurance agreement and attachments filed in a court proceeding and purportedly containing “all manner of confidential and proprietary business information,” including “product design,” “service standards,” “pricing,” and...more

6/12/2019 / Confidential Information , Discovery , First Amendment , Good Cause , Insurance Litigation , Judicial Records , Proprietary Information , Reinsurance Agreements

Eleventh Circuit Finds Removal Jurisdiction Is Included Within Federal Subject-Matter Jurisdiction Under the Convention on the...

In 2001, Del Monte International GmbH and Inversiones y Procesadora Tropical INPROTSA, S.A. entered into an agreement for the production, packaging, and sale of MD-2 pineapples, a variety of pineapple that Del Monte had...more

5/22/2019 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Contract Terms , Food Manufacturers , Injunctions , Removal , Subject Matter Jurisdiction

With All Eyes on "Implementation" of Amendment 4, Senate Bill 7066 Makes Significant Additional Changes to Florida Election Laws...

On the final day of regular time in this year's legislative session, which came in the wake of an election year involving an unprecedented three statewide recounts, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 7066....more

5/15/2019 / Ballots , Felons , Florida , Legislative Agendas , Pending Legislation , Primary Elections , State and Local Government , State Elections , Voter Registration , Voting Rights

Court Finds Jurisdiction Over Petition to Confirm Arbitration Award in Dispute Between Liquidator and Foreign Reinsurer

In the wake of the liquidation of Legion Indemnity Co., the Illinois Director of Insurance, as liquidator of Legion, and Catalina Holdings arbitrated claims originating under reinsurance agreements between Legion and a...more

4/30/2019 / Arbitration , Arbitration Awards , International Arbitration , Liquidation , McCarran-Ferguson Act , Reinsurance

Discovery Under Section 1782 Denied Based on Finding That Chinese Arbitration Organization Was Not a “Foreign or International...

Section 1782(a) permits a person to seek a court order for the production of documents for use “in a proceeding in a foreign or international tribunal. …” To obtain discovery under the statute, the petitioner must meet three...more

4/9/2019 / 28 U.S.C. § 1782 , China , CIETAC , Discovery , Document Productions , Foreign Jurisdictions , Foreign Tribunals , International Litigation

English Court Enjoins Washington State Court Action in Favor of Arbitration in London

In a dispute involving a complex, multilayered excess insurance policy, the Commercial Court of the Queen’s Bench Division enjoined Weyerhaeuser, a Washington company, from suing Catlin Syndicate Limited, a London-based...more

3/21/2019 / Commercial Insurance Policies , Insurance Litigation , International Arbitration , Motion To Enjoin , Policy Terms , UK

Applied Underwriters Defeats Class Certification in Long-Running Worker’s Compensation Reinsurance Dispute

Applied Underwriters beat back an attempt by plaintiffs to certify a class in their lawsuit related to Applied Underwriters’ “EquityComp” and “SolutionOne” workers’ compensation programs. ...more

2/27/2019 / Class Action , Class Certification , Insurance Litigation , Participation Agreements , Reinsurance , Workers' Compensation Claim

Private Arbitrators Do Not Qualify as a “Tribunal” under 28 U.S.C. § 1782

Section 1782 allows a district court to order a person who resides in the court’s district to provide testimony or documents to be used in a proceeding before a foreign tribunal. ...more

2/25/2019 / 28 U.S.C. § 1782 , Arbitration , Discovery , Foreign Jurisdictions , Foreign Tribunals , Intel , International Litigation , Litigation Strategies

DC District Court Permits Vantage Commodities To File Amended Complaint And Denies Reinsurer Defendants’ Motion For Interlocutory...

The District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order denying a motion to reconsider its prior order allowing Vantage Commodities to file an amended complaint and denying the reinsurer defendants’ motion for...more

2/7/2019 / Breach of Contract , Financial Services Industry , Insurance Litigation , Interlocutory Appeals , Motion for Reconsideration , Promissory Estoppel , Reinsurance , Unjust Enrichment

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

Munich Re Wins Arbitration It Initially Resisted, And Parties Agree To Dismiss Federal Lawsuit Against Munich Re As A Result

Alabama Municipal Insurance Corporation (AMIC) has agreed to dismiss with prejudice its federal lawsuit against Munich Re after an arbitrator rendered judgment against AMIC in a case we previously wrote about here. ...more

1/16/2019 / Arbitration , Binding Contractual Rules , Contract Terms , Dismissal With Prejudice , Insurance Litigation , Mandatory Arbitration Clauses , Reinsurance

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

Benjamin Stearns

Carlton Fields

Popular Topics by This Author

Latest Publications