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 →

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 →

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 →

Yesterday I blogged about stepped-up political pressures on the Securities and Exchange Commission to outlaw mandatory arbitration agreements in customers’ account agreements with their brokerage firms.  The pressures are not coming just from politicians.  Last week, a Tennessee appellate court refused to enforce a pre-dispute arbitration clause in a brokerage firms’ account agreement with a customer … Continue reading Tennessee court invalidates brokerage firm’s arbitration clause as unconscionable →

In the wake of a FINRA disciplinary hearing panel decision not to enforce its own rules against broker-dealer Charles Schwab barring class action waivers in customer-broker account agreements because of the Federal Arbitration Act (see my previous blog posts about that decision here and here), investor rights advocates have stepped up their efforts to press the Securities … Continue reading Added Pressure on SEC to Eliminate Mandatory Securities Arbitration →

Following closely on the heels of Quinnipiac’s very wise decision to name ADR Law Prof Jen Brown the next Dean of its law school, Ohio Northern University announced it appointed Richard Bales, currently at Northern Kentucky Chase College of Law, the next Dean of its Pettit College of Law. Congratulations to Rick on this accomplishment, … Continue reading Rick Bales named Dean at Ohio Northern’s Law School →

Last week, author Dan Solin, a long-time critic of FINRA, published a column in U.S. News & World Report attacking the FINRA arbitration forum as biased, unfair to investors and shrouded in secrecy.  Presumably, the column was motivated by a federal judge’s recent decision to deny a FOIA request that PIABA (Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association) filed with the SEC to … Continue reading George Friedman responds to Dan Solin’s indictment of FINRA arbitration →

As many of our readers know, the Legal Education, ADR and Practical Problem-Solving Project (LEAPS) of the ABA Section on Dispute Resolution Law Schools Committee was launched in 2010 to promote the teaching of practical problem-solving in law school so as to improve legal education.  I am on the Executive Committee, along with Deborah Eisenberg, … Continue reading Update on LEAPS →