Navigating Mass Arbitration: New Rules and Strategies — The Consumer Finance Podcast
A recent trend in litigation has emerged that is causing companies to re-think conventional wisdom. Until now, it has been a widely adopted best practice for retailers and other consumer-facing companies to include mandatory...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
Many construction contracts, especially on private projects, contain alternative dispute resolution provisions. These provisions often incorporate the Construction Industry Rules and Mediation Procedures of the American...more
Effective March 1, 2024, the American Arbitration Association (AAA) has revised its Construction Industry Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures (AAA Rules). The AAA Rules provide a framework for resolving...more
For the past few years, following the machinations of mass arbitrations has been like watching a tennis match. First one side hits a volley, then another returns, and on-and-on with the opposing sides continually stuck in...more
On January 15, 2024, the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") published updates to its Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules and Fee Schedule, aimed at streamlining the mass arbitration process and reducing costs....more
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court decision denying defendant MicroBilt Corp.’s motion to compel arbitration, finding the plaintiff had fully complied with all provisions of her arbitration...more
The District of Massachusetts’s recent decision in Fairfield v. DCD Auto. Holdings, Inc., No. 22-cv-11977, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109463 (D. Mass. June 26, 2023) serves as a key reminder for businesses not only to have...more
The Texas Supreme Court held that arbitration clauses in trust documents may be enforced regarding claims by beneficiaries against trustees. In Rachal v. Reitz, a beneficiary sued a trustee for failing to provide an...more
The phrase “Many Will Enter, Few Will Win” is often used to comply with CARU’s guidelines for contests directed to children. It’s meant to make it easier for kids to understand that they really don’t have a good shot at...more
In Field Intelligence Inc. v. Xylem Dewatering Solutions Inc., the Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the district court’s determination that the court, not the arbitrator, was required to determine whether the...more
The Florida Supreme Court on March 31, 2022, found that the incorporation by reference of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitration rules in Airbnb's Terms of Service constitutes clear and unmistakable evidence...more
On April 30, 2021, in Hampton v. ADT, LLC, et al., the New Jersey Appellate Division vacated a September 2020 trial court order dismissing a former employee’s lawsuit and compelling him to arbitrate his Conscientious Employee...more
This appeal arises from a class action suit alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227. In 2015, plaintiff Manuel Mendoza bought a car from defendant car dealer Fred Haas Motors, and...more
COVID-19 has caused a widespread evaluation of how existing therapies could assist in treating this new pathogen. This OnPoint does something similar – though, of course, considerably less important. It examines how dispute...more
It’s no secret that many employers have employees sign arbitration agreements with class and collective action waivers in the hopes of avoiding the massive wage-hour lawsuits that have become so prevalent in the past two...more
Many contracts have provisions that state that disputes relating to the agreement will be resolved in arbitration. But often questions arise as to whether a particular dispute should be decided in arbitration or in court. ...more
Two professional baseball teams — the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles — were parties to a partnership agreement granting exclusive broadcast rights to their baseball games to a third entity. The agreement had a...more
The defendants moved to compel arbitration of a complex dispute concerning the parties’ investment in medical marijuana companies. The plaintiff claimed that the defendants breached a non-compete agreement and fiduciary...more
The poet, Robert W. Service once wrote that “a promise made is a debt unpaid.” The question that remains is: Who gets to collect on that unpaid debt?...more
Entrepreneurs launching new companies today take on a significant gamble, because statistics show that roughly 30% of all new start-ups fail within two years, and only half survive for a full five years. Many businesses fail...more
In July 2018, our Construction Alert addressed the question of who decides the arbitrability of a dispute when your contract includes an arbitration clause. Is it a court or the arbitrator? How did the “wholly groundless”...more
Can arbitrators determine what issues they have the power to decide? According to the U.S. Supreme Court, they can, provided there is “clear and unmistakable evidence” the parties intended to delegate threshold questions to...more
Univ. of Iowa Bd. of Regents v. Am. Arbitration Ass’n, No. 17-0949, 2019 BL 7069 (Iowa Ct. App. Jan. 09, 2019) - Modern Piping, Inc. (“Modern Piping”) and the University of Iowa, Board of Regents, and State of Iowa...more
On January 8, 2019, the US Supreme Court held in Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc., 586 U.S. --- (Jan. 8, 2019), that when a contract delegates to arbitrators the question whether a dispute is subject to...more