Yesterday I reported on FINRA’s enforcement action against Charles Schwab for inserting a class action waiver in its customer PDAAs. Today I hear that Schwab filed an action in federal court seeking a declaratory judgment that it’s class action waiver is lawful. Schwab offered to pay its customers’ arbitration filing fees pending the outcome of … Continue reading Schwab countersues FINRA
In a very interesting development with implications for the fate of class action waivers in the securities dispute context, FINRA Enforcement filed a complaint today against broker-dealer and FINRA member Charles Schwab for including a class action waiver in its customer agreement. Schwab had amended its customer agreement to include the class action waiver in October … Continue reading FINRA Brings Enforcement Action Against Charles Schwab For Class Action Waiver in its Customer Agreement
From the Global Arbitration Review (1/16/12): “The world’s first specialist centre to resolve disputes arising from complex financial transactions has opened in The Hague. PRIME Finance – the Panel for Recognised International Market Experts – was declared open for business today by the Dutch minister of finance, Jan Kees de Jager. It will draw on … Continue reading New Dispute Resolution Center for Complex Financial Transactions Opens in The Hague
I am pleased to share this invitation from Susan Franck (Wash. & Lee): I wish to draw your attention to the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA) and its First Annual Winter Forum in San Francisco. It is the first event of its kind that is designed to drawn together the synergies of serious scholars of … Continue reading Institute for Transnational Arbitration: First Annual Winter Forum in San Francisco – February 1-2, 2012
In a Federal Register notice issued last week, the SEC published for public comment a proposal to amend Rule 13201 of the FINRA Code of Arbitration Procedure for Industry Disputes to expressly preclude employees of FINRA members from arbitrating collective actions arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act or the Equal … Continue reading SEC Publishes for Comment Proposal to Exempt Collective Actions from FINRA Arbitration
I was not aware that Outer Space Activities were so conflict-laden. I learned today that, last week, the Administrative Council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (the “PCA”) adopted the “PCA Optional Rules for the Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Outer Space Activities.” According to the PCA’s announcement, the “project was set in motion in … Continue reading This is Out of this World…
Tomorrow, FINRA’s Board of Governors is holding its December 2011 meeting, and on its agenda are several rule proposals in the Dispute Resolution area. FINRA has been very active in continuously reforming and updating its Codes of Procedure for arbitration and mediation, to address concerns and critique from its various constituents. The proposals related to FINRA … Continue reading FINRA’s Board of Governors to Consider Several DR Proposals
I am forwarding a great report from Sean Nolon about its anniversary DR conference at Vermont last month: On October 12th the Dispute Resolution Program at Vermont Law School celebrated 30 years of teaching dispute resolution with an anniversary conference by hosting Josh Stulberg, Lawrence Susskind, Jack McCrory, Amy Cohen and Phil Harter. The conference … Continue reading DR Anniversary Conference at Vermont Law School
According to a four-judge panel of New York’s Appellate Division, First Department, collective arbitration is not the same as class arbitration, such that the Supreme Court’s holding in Stolt-Nielsen (precluding class arbitration if the arbitration agreement is silent on the issue) does not apply to a collective of more than 700 Jet Blue pilots seeking … Continue reading Is collective arbitration the same thing as class arbitration?
From the Chair of the Section of Dispute Resolution, Debbie Masucci: Please join us in celebrating ABA Mediation Week October 16-22. “Civility and Civil Public Discourse” is the theme. This year Mediation Week is truly a global event. Through the efforts of our Mediation Committee over 25 events will be held. The Mediation Committee also … Continue reading ABA Mediation Week
