The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration after concluding, contrary to the district court’s decision, that a “sign-in wrap agreement” provided conspicuous notice of...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has rejected an argument that opting out of arbitration clauses precluded arbitration under prior arbitration agreements in a dispute between Uber drivers and...more
6/5/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Compel ,
Opt-Outs ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
Last Lap in SEC RILA Rulemaking Critical Unresolved Issues -
Congress directed the SEC to adopt a new registration statement for registered indexed annuities (RILAs) by the end of June. Several months ago, the SEC...more
5/29/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
NLRB ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The SEC has opened a new track in the whistleblower litigation derby. While SEC enforcement actions concerning whistleblower violations are nothing new, they typically involve claims that companies precluded employees from...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a district court’s decision to deny a motion to compel arbitration in a case involving a request to refund the cost of airline tickets after a cancellation....more
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has issued an aggressive scheduling order that “should allow prompt resolution of” one of the initial challenges to the FTC’s noncompete ban “with sufficient time,...more
5/3/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Competition ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently dismissed certain claims brought by a reinsurer related to its efforts to audit an insurer’s broker....more
The U.S. Tax Court recently upheld a determination by the IRS that premium payments to certain microcaptives could not be deducted for tax purposes because the premium payments were not actually for “insurance.”...more
The 2024 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey has revealed that labor and employment class actions jumped approximately 10% in the last year. Nearly four out of five companies surveyed reported that they faced a labor and...more
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a district court lacked jurisdiction to confirm an arbitration award because the court did not have an independent basis for jurisdiction on the face of the application...more
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court’s decision to vacate and remand an arbitration decision in a case concerning companies’ withdrawal from a retirement fund....more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a decision compelling arbitration based on an arbitration provision in website “terms of use,” even though those terms were in a hyperlink....more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a district court’s refusal to enjoin arbitration was immediately appealable because the arbitration agreement was governed by state law rather than the Federal...more
Funds Not Caged by SEC Names Rule Amendments: Roaming Room Remains -
The SEC recently adopted amendments to its investment company “names” rule that apply to most SEC-registered funds, including underlying funds in which...more
1/11/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Whistleblowers
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana recently refused to compel arbitration on the ground that the arbitral forum had ceased to exist and that a purported replacement forum was not the same forum and...more
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