Tell me if you have heard this one before: ten companies are sued by a former employee as “joint employers”, even though the employee technically worked for, and signed a binding arbitration agreement with, only one of them....more
Employees who sign an arbitration agreement with one company cannot avoid arbitration with related defendant-companies by arguing they were not parties to the agreement. The California Court of Appeal held that claims against...more
The Second Circuit recently affirmed the denial of motions to compel arbitration filed by, inter alia, the Trump Corp. and a nonparty from whom the plaintiffs sought discovery....more
Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP) contracted with U.S. Trinity Energy Services LLC for the construction and installation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline across property in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Trinity...more
In a dispute over Uber’s alleged failure to provide a wheelchair-accessible ride-sharing option in New Orleans, the District Court held that, under California law, plaintiffs were not equitably estopped from avoiding...more
When all was said and done, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on June 1, 2020 in effect that the New York Convention (i.e., the U.N. Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards) and the...more
Sometimes compelling arbitration is simple. If the parties to a dispute signed an agreement to arbitrate, a signatory would normally be able to use that agreement as a basis to move to compel arbitration pursuant to the...more
Can your business be compelled to defend an international arbitration brought by an entity with whom you never agreed to arbitrate? On June 1, 2020, a unanimous United States Supreme Court answered this question in the...more
On June 1, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a unanimous opinion regarding the relationship between domestic equitable estoppel and the enforcement of arbitration agreements. In GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS,...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that equitable estoppel doctrines can be invoked by non-signatories seeking to compel arbitration under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards....more
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a non-signatory to an agreement requiring arbitration for disputes might be able to compel arbitration under state law equitable estoppel arguments. The...more
On June 1, 2020 the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in GE Energy Power Conversion Fr. SAS, Corp. v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, No. 18-1048, 2020 WL 2814297 (U.S. June 1, 2020), holding that the...more
On June 1, 2020, the United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision by Justice Thomas, held that allowing non-signatories to an arbitration agreement to compel arbitration under the Convention on the Recognition and...more
On June 1, the U.S. Supreme Court in GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, 590 U.S. ___ (June 1, 2020) unanimously held that a non-party may enforce an international arbitration agreement...more
For the first time in six years, the U.S. Supreme Court focused its attention upon the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958, commonly referred to as the “New York Convention,” to...more
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision on June 1 in GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp. v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, holding that, in some circumstances, even nonsignatories to an agreement may invoke...more
The international arbitration community has watched the case of GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp. v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC with great interest. At issue is whether a nonsignatory to an arbitration agreement...more
In cases involving contracts between U.S. companies, courts frequently allow a nonsignatory to a contract to enforce an arbitration provision in the contract against a signatory when the signatory to the contract relies on...more
On June 1, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, holding that the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the Convention)...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari to review a decision concerning arbitration that hinges on the interaction of (i) the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “NY...more
In Freeman v. Fid. Brokerage Servs., LLC, the mother of the plaintiffs executed a living trust agreement. No 3:18-CV-0947-G, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34694 (N.D. Tex. March 5, 2019)....more
The Supreme Court of South Carolina recently determined that non-signatory insureds could not be compelled to arbitrate their claims under an arbitration clause in an agency agreement where the insureds did not obtain a...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which the plaintiff sued UBS for mismanagement of his deceased mother's estate. The plaintiff challenged the validity of the arbitration agreement arguing that...more
Generally, only signatories to an arbitration agreement can compel one another to arbitrate their claims. However, in certain situations, a nonsignatory may take advantage of an arbitration agreement between other parties....more
Welcome to Our First Issue of 2018 - There have been many changes and new developments in the construction industry since the start of the year. As with any industry that experiences sweeping changes, we keep a sharp eye...more