Oregon Law announced today that it has appointed Michael Moffitt, the law school’s associate dean for academic affairs, associate director for the Appropriate Dispute Resolution Center, and Orlando J. and Marian H. Hollis Professor of Law, to the post of Dean of the law school, effective July 2011. We here at Indisputably are very proud … Continue reading Congratulations to our very own Michael Moffitt – new Dean at Oregon Law →

Yesterday I taught my final class of the semester in my Mediation & Arbitration course. I have been teaching this class, or a version of it, six years in a row. Each year, I ask students to find and bring in to class a pre-dispute arbitration clause in a consumer or employment agreement to which … Continue reading The decline of unconscionable arbitration clause provisions? →

Last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of FINRA arbitration to a customer of a broker-dealer on the grounds of waiver. In Louisiana Stadium Exposition District v. Merrill Lynch, 10-889-CV (Nov. 22, 2010), the Court affirmed a district court’s order denying a motion to compel arbitration on the grounds that the … Continue reading Second Circuit affirms denial of motion to compel FINRA arbitration on grounds of waiver →

For those of you ADR scholars out there interested in an academic position, here is the announcement: The University of Maryland School of Law seeks applicants for a faculty position in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution. The faculty member must have a sincere interest in and commitment to clinical teaching.  The faculty member: 1) … Continue reading University of Maryland Law Hiring ADR Prof →

In a surprising but welcome development, FINRA announced today that it will file a rule proposal next month with the Securities and Exchange Commission to make permanent its Public Arbitrator Pilot Program, in which investors are given the choice of selecting an all-public arbitrator panel in disputes with brokers, rather than a panel made up … Continue reading FINRA Proposes to Make Permanent its Public Arbitrator Pilot Program →

A New York lower court has denied a “feeder” hedge fund’s motion to vacate an arbitration award issued by a majority of an American Arbitration Association panel in connection with an investor’s claim against the fund for losses related to the Madoff Ponzi scheme.  In Wiederhorn v. Merkin (601265/2010), New York Supreme Court, New York County, … Continue reading NY Lower Court Confirms Madoff-Related Arbitration Award →

In a development likely to reduce the number of matrimonial disputes going through acrimonious litigation in New York, Governor David Patterson finally signed into law yesterday an amendment to New York’s domestic relations law adding “irreconcilable differences” as a valid ground for divorce.  New York was the only state remaining in the country to require proof … Continue reading New York last state in the country to finally add a no-fault divorce provision →

In a closely-watched case, the Supreme Court of the State of Washington held today that statutes of limitation do not apply in arbitration.   Broom v. Morgan Stanley DW, Inc., No. 82311-1 (Sup. Ct. Wa. July 22, 2010).  In that case, an NASD arbitration panel dismissed investors’ garden-variety suitability claims against their brokers on state statute of … Continue reading Washington State Highest Court Rules Statutes of Limitations Do NOT Apply to Arbitration →