Michael Wolgin on Arbitration Agreements

Second Circuit Rejects Enforcement of Class Waiver and Arbitration Agreement Under FAA, Finds That Provisions Impermissibly...

The plaintiff sued the trustee of his retirement plan, his former employer, and others for breach of fiduciary duties in connection with the plan’s purchase of shares of the employer’s parent company for more than fair market...more

9/12/2024 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Breach of Duty , Class Action Arbitration Waivers , Employee Benefits , Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) , Federal Arbitration Act , Fiduciary Duty , Motion to Compel , Retirement Plan

Texas Supreme Court Remands Case in Light of Recent Ruling That Arbitrator Must Determine Arbitrability for AAA Arbitration...

In a lawsuit brought by a car dealership (Lone Star) against a car auction company (Alliance), the latter moved to compel arbitration as a third-party beneficiary of an agreement between Lone Star and a separate company that...more

9/28/2023 / American Arbitration Association , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitrators , Motor Vehicles , TX Supreme Court

Court Confirms Arbitration Award Against Non-Signatory Intervening Party in Arbitration

Paychex Inc. had entered into an agreement to provide a company, Dan-Gulf Shipping Inc., with payroll-related services. The agreement contained an arbitration clause governed by the rules of the American Arbitration...more

9/5/2023 / American Arbitration Association , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Business Litigation , Contract Disputes , Goods or Services , Non-Signatories , Payroll Companies , Service Contracts

Fifth Circuit Affirms Denial of Arbitration, Rejects Arbitration Provisions in “Battle of the Forms” Between Buyer and Seller in...

The case involved the sale of mist eliminators (demisters) from MECS Inc. to Axiall Canada Inc., an owner of a Canadian manufacturing facility. A key issue involved the terms of the parties’ contractual relationship as formed...more

7/24/2023 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Business Disputes , Business Litigation , Buyers , Contract Terms , Motion to Compel , Sellers , Supply Contracts , Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)

Court Grants Nigeria’s Second § 1782 Application for Discovery in Foreign Proceeding in Dispute Over $10B Arbitration Award...

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the 28 U.S.C. § 1782 application of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to issue subpoenas on four U.S. entities and two individuals, the respondents, in aid...more

9/30/2022 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Discovery , Dispute Resolution

Fifth Circuit Dismisses Appeal of Order Denying Motion to Reopen Case, Sever Cost-Splitting Provision, and Impose Costs of...

The underlying dispute related to a property manager’s limitation of the appellant, Jane Doe, to one pet in her apartment. Doe sued the manager for declaratory relief, injunctive relief, monetary damages, and punitive damages...more

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

Ninth Circuit Affirms Denial of Motion to Compel Arbitration Against Non-Signatory Spouse of Contracting Party

In a case brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an order denying the defendant corporation’s motion to compel arbitration, which the company filed pursuant to...more

1/17/2022 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Motion to Compel , TCPA

Fourth Circuit Enforces Arbitration Agreement’s Waiver of Appellate Review

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the enforceability of an employment agreement’s waiver of appellate review of an arbitration award. The waiver purported to waive both judicial and appellate review of the...more

4/21/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Federal Arbitration Act

Sixth Circuit Reverses District Court for Exceeding Its Authority by Ruling on Arbitrability in the Presence of an Unchallenged...

The plaintiff alleged that she was a victim of an illegal predatory loan orchestrated by the defendant’s company. The loan allegedly charged excessive interest but was shielded from U.S. law by tribal sovereign immunity....more

4/5/2021 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Contract Terms , Motion to Compel

Ninth Circuit Affirms Denial of DIRECTV’s Motion To Compel Arbitration, Creating Circuit Split on Procedure for Determining Scope...

The plaintiff had filed a class action alleging that DIRECTV made calls to his cell phone in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. DIRECTV attempted to compel arbitration by relying on an agreement that the...more

10/30/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , AT&T Mobility , DirectTV , Motion to Compel , TCPA

Court Applies "Summary-Judgment-Like" Approach To Uncontested Motions To Compel Arbitration And Stay Litigation

The court considered a restaurant franchisee’s motion to compel arbitration, and motion to dismiss, or, in the alternative, stay an employee’s race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit pending the completion of arbitration....more

9/23/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Employer Liability Issues , Federal Arbitration Act , Franchisee , Motion to Compel , Race Discrimination , Retaliation , Stays

Ninth Circuit Remands Order Denying Motion to Compel Arbitration That Failed to Address the Effect of Delegation Clause in...

The delegation clause in the parties’ arbitration agreement provided that any “questions regarding the validity or enforcement of these Dispute Policies shall be delegated and submitted to the arbitrator, including whether...more

7/15/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Delegation Clauses , Motion to Compel

Third Circuit Affirms Denial of Motion to Compel Car Rental Class Action to Arbitration Based on Insufficiently Incorporated...

Seven plaintiffs filed a putative class action against a car rental company and its subsidiary for allegedly unauthorized charges incurred when the plaintiffs rented cars from the company....more

6/3/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Car Rentals , Class Action , Consumer Contracts , Contract Terms , Federal Arbitration Act , Jurisdiction , Motion to Compel

Court Compels FMLA Employment Dispute to Arbitration, Finding That Arbitration Agreement Delegated Arbitrability to Arbitrator and...

A former executive and in-house lawyer for the Miami Heat basketball franchise sued the team for allegedly violating her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act when she was terminated from her employment. ...more

5/14/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Basketball , Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) , Hiring & Firing , Labor Law Violations , Motion to Compel , Unconscionable Contracts , Void Contracts , Wrongful Termination

Alabama Supreme Court Reverses Order Compelling Arbitration Based on Failure to Authenticate Arbitration Agreement

A construction company, Parkerson Construction LLC, sued homeowner Jeanne Lacy Oaks claiming that Oaks owed it more than $50,000 for construction work on her home. ...more

4/21/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Construction Contracts , Construction Defects , Construction Disputes , Construction Litigation , Construction Project

Third Circuit Addresses Interplay Between LMRA and FAA and Affirms Arbitration Award in Favor of Union Under Collective Bargaining...

The case relates to the disposition of accrued vacation time of unionized nurses after a new employer (Prospect) assumed a collective bargaining agreement. Prospect construed the collective bargaining agreement differently...more

3/31/2020 / Accrual Requirements , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Award Challenges , Arbitration Awards , Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) , Federal Arbitration Act , LMRA , Unions , Vacation Leave

Court Upholds Arbitration Provision Despite Allegations of Fraud in Contract’s Execution

The dispute involved the potential trade-in of a car and the purchase of a pickup truck by two customers at a car dealership. During the course of the transaction, one of the customers signed a document that he later learned...more

3/13/2020 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Binding Arbitration , Common Law Claims , Contract Terms , Dealers , Fraud , Motion to Compel , Motor Vehicles

Eleventh Circuit Clarifies Standard for New York Convention’s Public Policy Defense to Foreign Arbitration Awards

The dispute involved an arbitration related to alleged medical malpractice by doctors selected by Carnival Cruise Lines to treat a wrist injury of a Serbian employee of Carnival. The employee’s employment agreement with...more

Court Orders Stay of New Arbitration Over Disputed Reinsurance Billings and Compels Parties to Proceed Before a Predecessor...

The case involved a “second layer special casualty excess agreement of reinsurance” under which reinsurers General Reinsurance Corp. and SCOR Reinsurance Co. agreed to cover a certain amount in excess of Chicago Insurance...more

11/13/2019 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Arbitrators , Asbestos , Billing , Contract Terms , Insurance Litigation , Liability Insurance , Loss Allocation , Reinsurance , Stays

Second Circuit Affirms Judgment Confirming Arbitration Award in Favor of Labor Union Involving Alleged Non-Signatory to Collective...

The dispute involved a long-term health care provider and an assisted living services provider that was based in the same building. The union represented certain housekeeping employees at the location. The long-term health...more

10/17/2019 / Appeals , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) , Health Care Providers , Healthcare Workers , Long Term Care Facilities , Long-Term Care

After Reviewing the Arbitration Record, Court Enters Default Judgment Confirming Default Arbitration Award

Plaintiff Choice Hotels International Inc. filed an application to confirm arbitration award and a motion for default judgment against a fanchisee company and its owner in connection with an arbitration initiated before the...more

9/4/2019 / American Arbitration Association , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Awards , Breach of Contract , Default Judgment , Federal Arbitration Act , Franchise Agreements , Hospitality Industry , Hotels , Royalties

Ninth Circuit Affirms Order Denying Arbitration, Applying Precedent That State Law Does Not Overcome the New York Convention’s...

In a trademark dispute, Shrinivas Sugandhalaya LLP (SS LLP), an incense manufacturing company based in Mumbai, appealed the denial of its motion to compel arbitration against Balkrishna Setty and his company Shrinivas...more

7/3/2019 / Arbitral Authority , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitration Award Challenges , Federal Arbitration Act , International Arbitration , Manufacturers , Motion to Compel , New York Convention , Non-Signatories , Partnership Agreements , Trademark Infringement , Trademark Litigation

Ninth Circuit Affirms Order Compelling Class Arbitration in Employment Dispute Involving Two Employment Agreements With Varying...

Oracle America Inc. appealed the trial court’s order compelling class arbitration in an employment dispute in which there were two agreements at issue, one with, and one without, a class action waiver. The Ninth Circuit...more

5/1/2019 / Appeals , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Arbitrators , Class Action Arbitration Waivers , Class Arbitration , Employment Litigation

California Appellate Court Holds U.S. Supreme Court’s Epic Systems Ruling Does Not Authorize Waiver of Class Relief or Arbitration...

Former employees sued their former employer, alleging wage and hour violations and seeking civil penalties under the California Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA). In response, the employer petitioned for...more

4/11/2019 / Appeals , Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Class Action Arbitration Waivers , Employment Litigation , Epic Systems Corp v Lewis , Iskanian v CLS Transportation , Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)

Ninth Circuit Finds That Party Was A Third-Party Beneficiary Of Arbitration Agreement, And Affirms Order Compelling Arbitration Of...

Three delivery drivers sued a transportation broker for failure to pay overtime and minimum wages, failure to provide rest and meal breaks, failure to timely pay wages upon termination, and willful refusal to pay wages on...more

12/27/2018 / Arbitration , Arbitration Agreements , Contract Terms , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Litigation , Failure To Pay , Motion to Compel , Putative Class Actions , Third-Party Beneficiaries , Wage and Hour

Michael Wolgin

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