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

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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

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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

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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

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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 →

If You’re Standing in Front of a Car, You Are In a Poor Negotiating Position

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Back in the day Kevin Underhill and I were young associates at large law firms in Kansas City and living the life that only single people with lots of disposable income can.  Now he’s a big time lawyer in San Francisco and has the funniest legal blog there is – Lowering the Bar – and I’m simply … Continue reading If You’re Standing in Front of a Car, You Are In a Poor Negotiating Position →

Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013 introduced in Congress

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Once again, a bill to ban mandatory arbitration of consumer, employment and civil rights disputes has been introduced into both houses of Congress. It is sponsored by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA). The text is not yet available, but the press release states the following: “What the Arbitration Fairness Act Does: … Continue reading Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013 introduced in Congress →

After Shootings, Morgan State U. Will Train Students in Conflict Resolution

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Article from this morning’s online Chronicle of Higher Education here. MM — By Ann Schnoebelen After two shootings on its campus last semester, Morgan State University is taking some of the same security measures increasingly common elsewhere: more officers, a tighter campus perimeter, town-hall meetings to discuss public safety. But the small, historically black college … Continue reading After Shootings, Morgan State U. Will Train Students in Conflict Resolution →