American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant Guts Enforcement of Federal Laws

This blog post is from FOI, Prof. Jean Sternlight: On the theory that the worst Supreme Court arbitration ever is worth a second post, here is mine to supplement what Jill Gross has already posted. The Supreme Court’s decision today in American Express v. Italian Colors is ghastly, at least from the perspective of those who … Continue reading American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant Guts Enforcement of Federal Laws

Supreme Court Overturns Second Circuit in AMEX v Italian Colors

The Supreme Court released today its eagerly-awaited decision (at least in the ADR world) in AMEX v. Italian Colors.  In overturning the Second Circuit’s refusal to enforce a class action waiver on the ground that plaintiffs could not vindicate their statutory rights under the federal antitrust laws, the Court, in a 5-3 opinion authored by Justice Scalia (public … Continue reading Supreme Court Overturns Second Circuit in AMEX v Italian Colors

Stipanowich on Delaware Chancery Arbitration

In May, the Third Circuit heard oral arguments in Delaware Coalition for Open Government v. Stine, the case challenging the constitutionality of Delaware’s chancery arbitration scheme (see my previous commentary on the program here, here, and here.) A federal court had found the scheme unconstitutional on grounds that it violated the public’s First Amendment right … Continue reading Stipanowich on Delaware Chancery Arbitration

Supreme Court Affirms Commitment to Narrow Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards in Sutter Decision

Today, the Supreme Court in Oxford Health Plans v. Sutter, http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/oxford-health-plans-llc-v-sutter/, affirmed its commitment to narrow judicial review of arbitration decisions. In Sutter, the arbitrator interpreted an arbitration agreement to permit class arbitration. Because the parties asked the arbitrator to interpret the agreement, the only question for a court, according to the Supreme Court, is … Continue reading Supreme Court Affirms Commitment to Narrow Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards in Sutter Decision

SEC Won’t Have Time to Tackle Issue of Mandatory Securities Arbitration

Despite increasing pressure on the SEC to exercise its Dodd-Frank-granted explicit authority to ban mandatory securities arbitration, SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter stated earlier this week, according to a report in Reuters, that the Commission won’t have time to address the issue until 2014, in light of the other mandates of Dodd-Frank.  It’s a shame that the … Continue reading SEC Won’t Have Time to Tackle Issue of Mandatory Securities Arbitration

Call for Papers – Psychology and Lawyering: Coalescing the Field

From Jean Sternlight via the list serv. ————————- University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution Psychology and Lawyering: Coalescing the Field Friday, Feb. 21 and Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014 UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Las Vegas, Nevada In recent years both academics and practitioners … Continue reading Call for Papers – Psychology and Lawyering: Coalescing the Field

Schwab removes class action waiver from customer agreements

Responding to substantial pressure from regulators and the investing public, the brokerage firm Charles Schwab reversed itself and eliminated the class action waiver clause from its pre-dispute arbitration clause in its customer account agreements. See news coverage here. Readers of this blog know from my previous posts that in early 2012 FINRA brought a disciplinary … Continue reading Schwab removes class action waiver from customer agreements