The Supreme Court of Tennessee has approved a trial court’s consideration of extrinsic evidence regarding whether an individual with Down syndrome had the capacity to execute a durable power of attorney that his brother used...more
Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications -
Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more
10/11/2023
/ Annuities ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
COBRA ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Health Insurance ,
Insider Trading ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
Money Market Funds ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
No-Action Letters ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Robocalling ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
The National Labor Relations Board has made a series of employee-friendly moves over the past few months that have significant adverse implications for employers, including those in the insurance and securities industries....more
10/9/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
Insurance Industry ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Severance Agreements ,
Wage and Hour
A federal court recently agreed with Munich Re that it was not obligated to reimburse an insurer for losses and fees the insurer incurred in litigation with its professional liability carrier regarding a bad faith claim...more
The Nevada Supreme Court recently reversed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration, explaining that the plaintiff’s arguments that the contract at issue was illegal were not a valid basis to deny arbitration because...more
10/4/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Delegation Clauses ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Motion to Compel ,
Nevada ,
NV Supreme Court ,
Terms of Service ,
Uber ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
The Southern District of New York recently dismissed a petition to confirm a $145 million arbitration award rendered in Hong Kong based on lack of personal jurisdiction....more
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has again allowed creditors of Venezuela to attach assets belonging to Venezuela’s national oil company to satisfy arbitration awards against Venezuela. The Third Circuit rejected...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the New York Convention applies to an insurance arbitration dispute between a Puerto Rican company and Lloyd’s of London and that the convention preempts a Puerto Rican law...more
6/21/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
International Arbitration ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lloyds of London ,
McCarran-Ferguson Act ,
Motion to Compel ,
New York Convention ,
Preemption ,
Puerto Rico
On May 30, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, issued an enforcement memorandum asserting that most noncompete provisions in employment contracts and severance agreements violate the...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has followed up on its recent jurisprudence outlining the standards for the Federal Arbitration Act’s “transportation worker exception,” as we previously posted, by applying its recently...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently clarified its process for determining whether a court can apply a presumption of arbitrability. The court noted that its traditional process for making that determination does not...more
For broker-dealers distributing and selling variable annuities, examinations will test for compliance with Reg BI and FINRA Rule 2330 because both standards apply to variable annuity sales. Firms distributing and selling...more
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has overruled long-standing precedent and joined the Second, Third, Fifth, and Seventh Circuits to hold that the grounds for vacatur of an arbitral award are set out in domestic law...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently clarified the standards for invoking the “transportation worker” exception to the Federal Arbitration Act. The court noted that fact-finding on that exception should focus on the...more
The 2023 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey has revealed a significant increase in the number of labor and employment class action lawsuits and the amount companies are spending to defend those lawsuits. That is sobering news...more
Transgender athletes’ participation in school sports has been an area of focus for governing bodies like the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, as well as state...more
4/10/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Education ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
NCAA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
School Sports ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Student Athletes ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently rejected a claim that an arbitration award should be vacated by holding that the challenging party’s arguments improperly asked the court to review the merits of the arbitration...more
The Court of Appeals of Maryland recently held that the question of arbitrability was for a court, not an arbitrator, to decide where the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants had fraudulently induced them to enter...more
The Tenth Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s decision not to vacate a confirmation award even though the underlying arbitration award had been annulled by a Bolivian court following the confirmation. The Tenth...more
The Supreme Court of Wyoming recently rejected claims by a party that had largely prevailed in arbitration, but asserted that it should have received its fees, and that the arbitrator incorrectly decided several issues....more
The Fifth Circuit affirmed judgments confirming an arbitration award despite concluding that the lower courts should have considered one of the party’s claims that a dispute decided by the arbitrator was beyond the scope of...more
More than 25 years have elapsed since the SEC adopted Exchange Act Rule 17a-4(f) governing electronic recordkeeping by broker-dealers. In an effort to update the rule to reflect “technology neutral” concepts, the SEC adopted...more
A decision by the Delaware Court of Chancery allowing shareholders to sue McDonald’s over an alleged “toxic culture” of sexual harassment and misconduct at McDonald’s provides a stark reminder that employers must actually...more
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the denial of a stay regarding the enforcement of an international arbitration award under the New York Convention.
In 2010, the country of Moldova allegedly failed to pay energy bills to...more
The Sixth Circuit recently rejected a challenge to a Rule 12(c) judgment compelling arbitration in a dispute between a Kroger subsidiary and a union that represented its employees.
Kroger Limited Partnership I (KLPI),...more