The National Law Journal’s online edition ran a story this morning (available here, text pasted below) about the more then $3 billion the federal government paid out in settlements in 2011. The Departments of Energy, Agriculture, and Interior led the way in settling “mega-cases,” payment for which apparently comes from the Judgment Fund. I’ve been … Continue reading >$3B in Federal Settlements Last Year
There appears to be some life left in the “vindication of statutory rights” argument following Concepcion and Stolt-Nielsen after all! The Second Circuit, in In re: American Express Merchants’ Litigation, 06-1871 (2d Cir. 2012), held that a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement can be ruled unconscionable if the plaintiff (here, a merchant) can … Continue reading Class Action Waiver in Arbitration Agreement Unconscionable
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
I would be remiss in my duties as director of the Moritz College of Law if I did not offer my congratulations to the student winners of the annual CPR academic awards — both of whom are members of the Moritz College of Law class of 2011. From our press release: Michael Diamond ’11 wrote … Continue reading Moritz College of Law Students win CPR Awards
I know this is an ADR board, but ADR programs have clinics too. If you know any clinicians (or non-clinicians) who might be interested our upcoming program, please forward the announcement for the Southwest Jr. Clinicians Conference below. Have you been a clinician for less than ten years? If so come and join us at … Continue reading Southwest Jr. Clinicians Conference – March 16, 2012 at Arizona State
The consensus had been the Consumer Financial Products Board, finally (but perhaps temporarily) able to act since the recess appointment of Richard Cordray as Director, would have too much on its plate to move quickly on its Congressional mandate to study consumer arbitration in financial services agreements. But Cordray was quoted in a Washington Post … Continue reading Will the CFPB Take Action on Mandatory Arbitration?
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
Earlier this month, the NLRB ruled that employers may not require employees to consent to the waiver of class rights as part of an employment arbitration agreement. The NLRB’s rationale was that the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Norris-LaGuardia Act guarantee employees the right to enforce their provisions through collective action. Now, in Sutherland … Continue reading SDNY Invalidates Class Waiver for FLSA Claim
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
Mark Weidemaier (University of North Carolina) has posted Judging Lite: How Arbitrators Use and Create Precedent. The abstract: Common wisdom has it that arbitrators neither follow nor make precedent, with potentially dire consequences. These include the failure to enforce individual rights and the possibility that, over time, widespread use of arbitration will result in the … Continue reading Weidemaier on How Arbitrators Use and Create Precedent
