by Holly Hayes Our August post on the “bad faith” mediation section of Texas House Bill 2256 (read more about the bill here) that requires the mediator to report bad faith mediation to the insurance commissioner or the Texas Medical Board, as appropriate, prompted our attention to how other states are addressing confidentiality in mediation. [...]
Continue reading about 2009 Developments in Mediation: Mediation Confidentiality
During 2009, we also had the honor to guest-post on arbitration and e-discovery: “Hall Street Meets S. Maestri Place: What Standards of Review will the Fifth Circuit Apply to Arbitration Awards Under FAA Section 10(a)(4) after Citigroup?” posted on May 4, 2009 at the Loree Reinsurance and Arbitration Law Forum. (post available here) “E-Discovery and [...]
Continue reading about 2009 Arbitration and E-Discovery Guest-Blogs by Disputing
During 2009, we were honored to post contributions from several law professors and practitioners. Some wrote guest-posts, others submitted comments via e-mail, and yet others alerted us of important developments in the ADR area. We would like to thank our blog contributors for improving Disputing‘s legal scholarship! If you are interested in submitting materials for [...]
Continue reading about 2009 Arbitration and Mediation Guest-Bloggers at Disputing
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the payment of a deposit for an arbitration was a procedural matter for the arbitrators to decide. In Dealer Computers Svc v. Old Colony Motors, No. 09-20049 (5th Cir. Nov. 19, 2009) Old Colony Motors, Inc. (Old Colony) contracted with Dealer Services, Inc. [...]
by Holly Hayes In September 2009, President Obama instructed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to move forward with awarding medical malpractice demonstration grants to states funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to help doctors focus on putting their patients first, not on practicing defensive medicine. (read more here and [...]
Continue reading about 2009 Developments in Mediation: President Barack Obama’s Plan for Tort Reform
In addition to the grounds for vacating awards provided by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), courts have developed the doctrine of “manifest disregard” of the law as a common-law ground to vacate awards. An arbitral panel is said to have manifestly disregarded the law if, knowing the existence of a clear legal principle, refuse to [...]
Continue reading about 2009 Developments in Arbitration: Manifest Disregard of the Law
The year of of 2009 has seen no shortage of changes in the area of consumer and employment arbitration. I. The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 A general sense seems to be emerging, among some at least, that arbitration may be going too far, and a legislative movement at the federal level has emerged that [...]
Continue reading about 2009 Developments in Arbitration: Consumer and Employment Arbitration
This month, the United States Supreme Court handed down Union Pacific v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, 558 U.S. ___(Dec. 8, 2009). Justice Ginsburg delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. The Railway Labor Act (RLA) as amended, provides for arbitration of “minor disputes” of railroad employees before a panels at the National Railroad Adjustment Board [...]
Recent opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit demonstrate that it is quite possible for an agreement to arbitrate to exist in the absence of an actual written agreement signed by both purportedly bound parties to the litigation. I. U.S. Supreme Court [...]
Continue reading about 2009 Developments in Arbitration: Binding Non-signatories
by Holly Hayes In light of the subprime mortgage crisis, several states have adopted mediation programs to assist homeowners and lenders reach a solution to a mortgage foreclosure action. Keith Seat, at Mediate.com posted recently an update on foreclosure mediation across the United States. Highlights include the introduction of federal legislation that would encourage state [...]
Continue reading about 2009 Developments in Mediation: Foreclosure Mediation Programs
