By Holly Hayes Texas House Bill 2256 was signed into law on June 19, 2009 and is effective immediately. The bill provides a procedure for mediation of out-of-network health benefit claim disputes. The law now gives patients the option to mediate when they are “balance-billed” by their insurance company for services provided by out-of-network facility-based [...]
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On May 21, 2009 the Loree Reinsurance and Arbitration Law Forum and Disputing announced the formation of a LinkedIn Commercial and Industry Arbitration and Mediation Group. We are pleased to share with you that the group has since grown to 154 members. Discussions have been lively, the group is internationally and professionally diverse, and group members have access [...]
[Ed. note: This case is a bit old, but an important one. It somehow got lost in the pile of papers sitting on my desk. Thanks to San Antonio arbitrator and mediator Don Philbin for bringing this case to our attention back in April. ] The United States District Court for the Northern District of [...]
The One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress began on January 3, 2009 and will last till January 3, 2011. Following is a summary of some alternative dispute resolution bills currently being considered during this session. Click on the bill number for its text and on the status link to find the bill’s most recent legislative [...]
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In an unpublished opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral tribunal did not exceed its powers and affirmed the confirmation of the arbitral award. Retired United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor sat by designation with Circuit Judges Wiener and Stewart. [...]
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The Kluwer Arbitration Blog had a recent post discussing the the issue of whether international arbitral awards should be published. As this parallels the arguments we find in U.S. arbitration, we thought you might be interested in reading it. The authors, Alexis Mourre and Alexandre Vagenheim, elaborate on the following questions: 1. Is Arbitral Jurisprudence [...]
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Recently, a panel at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) granted Research in Motion 101 disputed domain names. In Research in Motion Limited v. Georges Elias, WIPO Case No. D2009-0218, the Complainant is Research in Motion, the owner of the registered marks for BLACKBERRY (U.S. and Canada) and BERRY (Hong Kong). Respondent is Georges Elias, [...]
In response to the National Public Radio (NPR) story blogged here, Forthright, the administrator for the National Arbitration Forum sent this letter to NPR (link to pdf here). In the letter, Forthright’s CEO addresses the issues of: consumer outcomes in arbitration, claims by former arbitrator Elizabeth Bartholet, and the benefits of arbitration. Thanks to Forthright [...]
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Weil, Gotshal & Manges Guest-Post: Texas House Bill 1083
By Audrey L. Maness On June 19, 2009, Texas House Bill 1083 was signed into law. The new provision, effective immediately, prevents courts from ordering mediation in cases subject to the Federal Arbitration Act (excepting cases where the parties have agreed otherwise). The bill, which passed both the House and the Senate without amendment, applies [...]
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