Need CLE credits? The University of Texas School of Law will host its 33rd Annual Page Keeton Civil Litigation Conference on October 29-30, 2009 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas. Professor Tracy McCormack and Karl Bayer will present on October 30, “Effective Advocacy in Arbitration.” Arbitration: do you know when you should ask [...]
Luciano A. Rodriguez, an attorney past president of the Texas Association of Mediators wrote an interesting article about what he views as “mediation myths” held by attorneys who handle court-annexed mediations. Here is his list of myths: A Strong Mediator is Better Allowing the Party to Speak at the Opening Session is Always Dangerous and [...]
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Part IVB: How will the Court Rule on the Merits? By Philip J. Loree Jr. I. Introduction In Part IVA (here) we considered whether the question in Stolt-Nielsen was one for the court or the arbitrators to decide, and predicted that at least five Justices of the United States Supreme Court will hold that the [...]
by Holly Hayes A recent post on the “bad faith mediation” section of Texas HB 2256 has prompted comments and discussion regarding the confidentiality of mediation. Texas mediators operate under the Civil Practice & Remedies Code, Chapter 154. Alternate Dispute Resolution Procedures. Specific sections of this code that address confidentiality are as follows: § 154.053. [...]
[Ed. note: see our previous posts about this case here and here.] The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that claims for (1) assault and battery; (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (3) negligent hiring, retention and supervision of employees involved in a sexual assault; and (4) false imprisonment are not [...]
As brought up for discussion by Professor Peter Friedman at our Commercial and Industry Arbitration and Mediation LinkedIn Group, the law firm of Milberg LLP has filed a class action lawsuit against the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). The Complaint alleges, among other things, that NAF falsely presented its arbitration services as neutral. (read more here) [...]
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As reported by PointofLaw.com, the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on September 15th, titled “Mandatory Binding Arbitration – Is it Fair and Voluntary?” Witnesses included: Rep. Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (D-GA), sponsor of H.R. 1020 (a.k.a. “Arbitration Fairness Act”). The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 would ban mandatory [...]
Peter S. Vogel, trial partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP and contributor to this blog, wrote an interesting piece about the role that a special master plays in electronic evidence disputes. Mr. Vogel writes that a special master in e-discovery usually: conducts interviews of IT employees; reviews software; examines data; searches websites; holds hearings on [...]
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Michigan Journal of International Law Article on Class Action Arbitration
Professor S.I. Strong, Senior Fellow at the University of Missouri’s Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution wrote an excellent article about the international implications of class arbitration. The article is entitled “The Sounds of Silence: Are U.S. Arbitrators Creating Internationally Enforceable Awards When Ordering Class Arbitration in Cases of Contractual Silence or Ambiguity?” and [...]
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