Recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court in Smith v. Spizzirri, 601 U.S. 472 (2024) and Coinbase, Inc. v. Suski, 144 S. Ct. 1186 (2024) provide important guidance for companies utilizing arbitration clauses in their...more
Noting the court was deciding, as a matter of first impression, “what a party must do to specifically challenge a delegation provision and what a court may consider when evaluating this challenge,” the Ninth Circuit Court of...more
When parties are battling over whether a court should compel a putative class action to arbitration, the outcome often turns on who decides the “gateway” arbitrability issues of whether a valid arbitration agreement exists...more
A federal court in Tennessee recently granted a franchisor’s motion to compel arbitration, including as to questions of arbitrability, in response to a 15 count complaint brought by 54 separate franchisees. Anthony v. Van...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
On May 26, 2022, the Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion reversing the Southern District of Florida’s denial of the appellant’s motion to compel arbitration, therein finding that the district court erred in failing to apply...more
As Dominic Toretto says: “Ask any racer, any real racer, it doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning’s winning.” “Fast and Furious” is the tenth highest-grossing film series ever, with a combined gross of over...more
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
The plaintiff sued his former employer for discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environment, and violations of the Missouri Human Rights Act. The defendant moved to compel arbitration based on the parties’ Mutual...more
Petitioners, two Rent-A-Center entities, moved to compel arbitration of a lawsuit by Anita Ellis alleging that Rent-A-Center unlawfully terminated her employment for seeking workers’ compensation benefits....more
The California Court of Appeals became the latest court to determine that a common arbitration agreement related to the EquityComp workers’ compensation insurance program and accompanying reinsurance agreements is...more
Last week, the Fourth Circuit reaffirmed the critical importance of a strong arbitration agreement, finding that a “delegation clause” required arbitration of the “gateway” issue of arbitrability. In an unpublished opinion,...more
In a dispute between Low Desert Empire Pizza (Desert Pizza) and its insurers over alleged mismanagement of claims and unjustifiable cost increases related to a workers’ compensation insurance program, a California appellate...more
On June 27, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted Snap Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration of a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claim. Pompliano v. Snap Inc., No. 17-cv-3664 (2018...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In an important decision for employers seeking to enforce arbitration agreements and limit wage and hour exposure and related defense costs, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed that...more
A delegation clause that gave the arbitrators “exclusive jurisdiction over the entire matter in dispute, including any question as to its arbitrability,” was found insufficient to require submission to the arbitrators of...more
Applying the doctrine of judicial estoppel, a district court refused to compel arbitration finding that the arbitration clause in a reinsurance agreement was unenforceable under a Virginia statute that voided a mandatory...more
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal found that an arbitration agreement entered into by a putative class representative and his eventual employer was enforceable even though the agreement was signed after the plaintiff filed...more