Category: Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act

Arbitration/Stay/FAA: Ninth Circuit Adopts Rebuttable Presumption That An Order Compelling Arbitration But Not Explicitly Dismissing Underlying Claims Stays Those Claims

January 30, 2014 · Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Stay

Finality Of Order Compelling Arbitration Depends On Context, “But Our Review Of That Context Is Weighted Against Finality”, Says Ninth Circuit Panel The Federal Arbitration Act permits immediate appeal of “a final decision with respect to an arbitration,” 9 U.S.C. section 16(a)(3), which is a decision that “ends the litigation on the merits and […]

Arbitration/Appealability/Vacatur/FAA/Class Action: Ninth Circuit Holds Non-Appealability Clause Relating To Arbitration Award Allocating Fees Among Class Counsel Attorneys Runs Afoul Of the Federal Arbitration Act

December 18, 2013 · Arbitration: Appealability, Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Section 1286.2 Vacatur

At Stake: Allocation of $28M in Attorney’s Fees Among Plaintiffs’ Attorneys in Wal-Mart Wage and Hour Litigation The scenario: Plaintiffs’ class counsel prosecute wage and hour class action against Wal-Mart, plaintiffs’ counsel quarrel concerning proper allocation of $28M fee award, and the fee dispute is submitted to “binding, non-appealable arbitration” before an eminent arbitrator, […]

Unconscionability/Preemption/Class/Consumers: Ninth Circuit Upholds Denial Of Arbitration In Two Cases

December 18, 2013 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Consumers, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Unconscionability

Ninth Circuit Judge William Fletcher is the author of two recent Ninth Circuit opinions affirming district court denials of motions to arbitrate against class action plaintiffs. Like his mother, the distinguished late Ninth Circuit Judge Betty Binns Fletcher, W. Fletcher was born in the State of Washington, and the next two cases involve Washington […]

Arbitration/Employment/Unconscionability/FAA: Employee’s Waiver Of Dispute Resolution Berman Hearing In Favor Of Arbitration, While Not Per Se Improper, Could Still Be Unconscionable

November 5, 2013 · Arbitration: Employment, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Unconscionability

SCOTUS Ruling In Concepcion Causes California Supreme Court To Change Its Position On Waiver of Berman Hearing So what is a Berman hearing? It is a dispute resolution forum established by the Legislature to assist employees in recovering wages owed. Labor Code section 98. The procedure is named after legislator Howard Berman, who instituted […]

Arbitration/Employment/Class Action/Waiver: Fourth District, Division 2 Reverses Trial Court’s Denial Of Petition To Compel Arbitration Of Employee Claims

November 1, 2013 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Employment, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Waiver

The Court Of Appeal Also Directs Entry Of Order Granting Employer’s Petition To compel Arbitration On An Individual Basis Employee Arroyo’s complaint alleged his employer engaged in wage and hour practices that violated the California Labor Code. The trial court denied the employer’s petition to compel arbitration, but this denial was reversed on appeal […]

Arbitration/Nonsignatories/Equitable Estoppel/Agency/Third Party Beneficiaries: Ninth Circuit Holds Parties Remain Bound By Agreements They Made And Not By Agreements They Didn’t Make

August 4, 2013 · Arbitration: Agents, Arbitration: Equitable Estoppel, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Nonsignatories, Arbitration: Third Party Beneficiaries

Many “Imaginative Arguments” Rejected To Get To Simple Conclusion I’ve had the unpleasant experience of purchasing electronic equipment, only to discover later that the seller had booked the sale as a lease. Therefore, our next case, Murphy v. DirectTV, Inc., No. 11-57163 (9th Cir. July 30, 2013) (Wardlaw, J. author 3:0) (published) struck a […]

Arbitration/Public Policy/Preemption/Choice of Law: Ninth Circuit Holds That Montana’s Interest In Protecting Consumers From Unfair Arbitration Agreements Is Preempted By The Federal Arbitration Act

July 20, 2013 · Arbitration: Choice of Law, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Public Policy

And Because Montana Law Was Preempted, Choice of Law Principles Required Application Of New York Law To Consumer Transaction Wild Goose Goose Island Overlook at National Glacier Park, Montana. Author: rmhermen. GNU Free Documentation License. After plaintiffs, who resided in Montana, sued their former Internet services provider Bresnan Communications, for enabling an advertiser […]

Arbitration/FAA: Supremes Says FAA Doesn’t Allow Court to Invalidate Class Arbitration Just Because Arbitration Leaves Plaintiff Without Affordable Means To Vindicate Claim

June 25, 2013 · Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act

Dissent’s Nutshell of Opinion: “Too Darn Bad” The United States Supreme Court, in a 5-3 opinion, has now held that the Federal Arbitration Act does not permit courts to invalidate a contractual waiver of class arbitration just because the plaintiff’s cost of individually arbitrating a federal statutory claim exceeds the potential recovery. American Express […]

Arbitration/FAA/Class Actions: Supreme Court Holds Arbitrator Does Not Exceed Powers By Deciding That Class Action Was Available

June 15, 2013 · Arbitration: Class, Arbitration: Delegation, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act

Impact of the Case Likely to Be Limited Because of Parties’ Agreement In Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter (Sup. Ct. June 10, 2013) (Kagan, J., author, with Thomas, J., joining in concurrence by Alito, J.), the Supreme Court held that an arbitrator does not “exceed his powers” under section 10(a)(4) of the Federal […]

Arbitration/Consumers/FAA/Unconscionability: 9th Circuit Holds Arbitration Clause In Consumer Credit Contract Lacking “Holder Rule” Language Is Not Unconscionable, And Doesn’t Fall Under “Public Injunction” Exception to Arb

April 12, 2013 · Arbitration: Consumers, Arbitration: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration: Public Policy, Arbitration: Unconscionability

Dissenting Judge Pregerson Attaches “Dense, Small Print, And Blurry Nine-Page Contract” As Appendix We posted on December 16, 2012 about the Kilgore v. Keybank oral argument to the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc. The case involves a putative class action by former students of a failed helicopter flight-training school seeking injunctive relief against the […]