Users of commercial arbitration — particularly those that employ the top institutional rules, such as those of the ICC or ICDR-AAA — have a number of basic expectations. They want their dispute to be decided by competent,...more
Earlier this year the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals joined the Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and D.C. circuits in the much-anticipated en banc decision of Corporacion AIC, SA v. Hidroelectrica Santa...more
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Law Finance Group, LLC v. Key, 2023 WL 4168752. The Court's opinion answers the question of whether the deadline for seeking vacatur of an arbitral award set...more
Key points - In a major shift, the Eleventh Circuit has overruled prior jurisprudence and changed the grounds for vacatur (also called annulment or set-aside) of international arbitration awards, aligning with decisions...more
Last January, an aggressive bid to vacate an arbitration defeat raised claims that a large bank’s brokerage unit and its counsel manipulated FINRA’s arbitrator-selection process through a “secret agreement.” The Georgia...more
On June 29, 2022, FINRA released the report of its independent investigation, concluding that allegations of a “secret agreement” to avoid certain arbitrators on an industry lawyer’s cases were untrue. The allegations...more
On March 31, 2022, the US Supreme Court issued a significant decision in Badgerow v. Walters, No. 20-1143, ending a circuit split about when federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction to review domestic arbitration...more
The U.S. Supreme Court held March 31, 2022, that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) does not allow federal courts to “look through” to the dispute underlying an arbitration to establish jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an...more
This week, a divided Ninth Circuit panel addressed when a plaintiff’s reliance on an omission may be presumed in a securities-fraud case, and another panel considered when an arbitration award must be set aside due to an...more
The district court had denied a motion filed by a former employee of a department store for vacatur of an arbitration award that rejected a grievance filed by the employee’s union against the store. On appeal, the employee...more
Beyond International, Inc. and an individual (“Beyond”) appealed the district court’s order granting plaintiffs’ motion to confirm an arbitration award in favor of Diverse Enterprises, Ltd., Co., LLC and other parties...more
Schuyler Line Navigation Co., LLC (“SLNC”) argued, in part, that the arbitrator’s partiality should be inferred from his previous representation of KPI Bridge Oil, Inc. (“KPI”) and its affiliates, alleged hope for future...more
Thomas Sanduski petitioned to vacate a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration award of $418,518 to Charles Schwab, claiming that one of the arbitrators was partial to Charles Schwab and that the panel was guilty...more
The petitioner unsuccessfully sought to vacate an arbitration award permitting Uber’s use of a “surge” pricing algorithm to set fares, arguing that comments made by the arbitrator reflected his “evident partiality” toward...more
The Tennessee Court of Appeals has held that new arguments for vacatur or modification first raised over 90-days post-award do not relate-back and may not be considered under the State’s version of the Uniform Arbitration...more
Health plan contracts typically include binding arbitration clauses, and the health plan typically specifies which arbitration association it prefers to use. If the arbitration association makes millions of dollars resolving...more
This case arises out of plaintiff John B. Napoleone’s failure to repay a sign-on bonus of $100,000 to his former employer, defendant S2K Financial LLC, under the terms of his employment agreement. S2K commenced an arbitration...more
“Class arbitration” signifies the utilization of the Fed.R.Civ.P. 23 protocol in an arbitration proceeding. A fundamental question among many concerning the legal viability of “class arbitration” is whether an arbitrator can...more
The petitioner moved to confirm an arbitration award, and the respondent cross-moved to vacate, claiming the arbitrator was guilty of misconduct in refusing to postpone the hearing upon the unexpected passing of a witness’...more
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the confirmation of an arbitration ruling in favor of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. In 2015, Ameriprise sought a temporary restraining order against Jeremy Walker, a former employee of an...more
The Federal Arbitration Act does not preclude a court challenge to an arbitration award. The FAA, however, does establish very limited grounds for vacatur of arbitration awards. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh...more
The First Circuit recently denied an appeal from the District of Puerto Rico’s refusal to vacate an arbitration award. The dispute centered on a management services agreement containing an arbitration agreement that required...more
The widow of a former NFL football player sued the player’s sports agent and financial adviser, alleging that the former player was defrauded by the agent in connection with the loss of the proceeds of the player’s life...more
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court in Hall Street Associates LLC v. Mattel Inc. determined that parties may not contractually agree to expand judicial review of arbitral awards beyond the grounds set forth in the Federal...more