In addition to S.B. 222 discussed here, the 81st Texas Legislature is considering H.B. 1083. The bill, authored by Rep. Gary Elkins, states that ”Except as provided by agreement of the parties, a court may not order mediation in an action that is subject to the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. Sections 1-16).” Status: Referred to [...]
From our good friend Chuck Herring: Here‘s a somewhat interesting decision reversing in part an arbitration award on an attorney’s fees issue, holding that a contract provision that permitted the lawyer to recover fees and expenses for time spent incident to withdrawing from representation was unconscionable and unenforceable on public policy grounds because the DRs [...]
The following bills are currently being floated around the U.S. House: H.R. 991. To treat arbitration clauses which are unilaterally imposed on consumers as an unfair and deceptive trade practice and prohibit their use in consumer transactions. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services on 02/11/2009. H.R. 1020. To amend Chapter 1 of [...]
We thought you’d want to check out this paper by John Allen Chalk and Rebecca Eaton from Whitaker, Chalk, Swindle & Sawyer, LLP. The authors do an excellent job at compiling noteworthy cases related to general arbitration, employment, consumer, and class actions arbitration. addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.karlbayer.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D437′; addthis_title = ‘White+Paper+on+Arbitration’; addthis_pub = ”;
As we discussed here, the 81st Texas Legislature is considering an amendment to the Texas Arbitration Act. Senate Bill 222, authored by Senator Royce West, was filed on November 10, 2008 and was referred to the Committee on Jurisprudence on February 11, 2009. Should you have any comments about S.B. 222, please feel free to contact us. [...]
Here is an interesting article, from the ABA Journal’s Law News Now. By Debra Cassens Weiss. An arbitrator has awarded a former employee of an e-discovery firm $300,000 after chastising her one-time employer for failing to turn up e-mails that supported her case. Cassondra Todd, the former managing director of Guidance Software Inc., claimed the company [...]
Continue reading about Arbitrator Accuses E-Discovery Firm of Failing to Turn Up Its Own Evidence
The latest Fifth Circuit‘s decision related to arbitration is Cont’l Airlines, Inc. v. Air Line Pilots Ass’n, _F.3d_ (5th Cir. 2009) (Cause No. 07-20835). This case falls within the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which provides that minor disputes must be resolved through compulsory and binding arbitration before the System Board of Adjustment (SBA). Here, a [...]
Continue reading about Fifth Circuit: the Public Policy Exception
In contrast to the Texas case of last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held, in an employment discrimination and retaliation case, that forty-one plaintiffs who were not signatories to the arbitration agreement were not required to arbitrate. Mendez v. Puerto Rican Int’l Cos., No. 07-4053, (3rd Cir. 2009). The eight signatories plaintiffs, however, [...]
Continue reading about Third Circuit: Nonsignatories Plantiffs Not Bound by Arbitration Agreement
Today, the Texas Supreme Court handed down In re: Labatt Food Service, L.P., __ S.W.3d _ Texas (2009) (Cause No. 07-0419). The opinion resolves the issue of whether nonsignatories to an arbitration agreement should be compelled to arbitrate claims when the decedent’s claims would have to be arbitrated. On a related note, S.B. 222 is currently being [...]
