Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog

We’re Back!!!!
Well, it’s been a while since we published and that is about to change. Since I spent much of last year becoming
JAMS Welcomes Karl Bayer to its Panel of Neutrals
JAMS, the world’s largest private alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider, is pleased to announce that Karl Bayer
Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements: The Twenty-First Century Arbitration Battleground and Implications for the EU Countries
Linda S. Mullenix, Morris & Rita Atlas Chair in Advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law, has written “Class Ac
Picking the Proper Technological Tool for Problem-Solving in Arbitration
Professor Amy J. Schmitz, John Deaver Drinko-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law and Co-Director of the Translational Data An

2012 Year-in-Review – SCOTUS Arbitration Case Law

By Victoria VanBuren - January 7, 2013

During 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court decided several cases related to arbitration: On January 10, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down CompuCredit Corporation v. Greenwood. The issue in CompuCredit was whether claims under the Credit Repair Organizations Act are subject to arbitration. The Court held that because the Credit Repair Organizations Act is silent on whether claims can proceed in an arbitrable forum, the Federal Arbitration Act requires the arbitration agreement to be enforced according to its terms. On January 23, 2012, Petitioner Christopher Wanken filed a writ of certiorari (Docket No. 11-939) with the U.S. Supreme Court against Respondents Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. and its branch manager, John Dwight Wanken, seeking review of the Fifth Circuit decision on Wanken v. Wanken, No. 11-102219, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 20014 (5th Cir. Tex. Sept. 29, 2011). The petition was denied on April 13, 2012. Read more. On February 21, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded orders of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia which held unenforceable all predispute arbitration agreements that apply to claims alleging personal injury or wrongful death against nursing homes. See Marmet Health Care Center, Inc., et al. v. Clayton Brown, et al., Case Nos. 11–391 and 11–394, 565 U. S. ____ (Feb. 21, 2012). Read more. On November 9, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hearAmerican Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant (Docket No. 12-133). The issue is whether the Federal Arbitration Act permits courts, invoking the “federal substantive law of arbitrability,” to invalidate arbitration agreements on the ground that they do not permit class arbitration of a federal-law claim. Read more. On November 26, 2012, in Nitro-Lift Technologies, L.L.C. v. Eddie Lee Howard, et al, 568 U.S. ___ (Nov. 26, 2012), the U.S. Supreme Court vacated an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision because the decision ignored a basic tenet of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and did not allow the arbitrator to rule on the validity of the contracts. Read more. On December 7, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter (Docket No. 12-135). In the case below, Sutter v. Oxford Health Plans LLC, 675 F.3d 215 (3d Cir. N.J. 2012) the Third Circuit had held that that a party could not be compelled under the Federal Arbitration Act, to submit to class arbitration unless there was a contractual basis for concluding that the parties agreed to do so. Read more. Stay tuned!

2012 Year-End Highlights

By Victoria VanBuren - January 3, 2013

We are happy to share our featured articles for 2012: Class and Collective Relief in the Cross-Border Context: A Possible Role for the Permanent Court of Arbitration Ten Hallmarks of Effective Arbitration Agreements with Sovereigns and State Entities The New 2012 ICC Arbitration Rules International Arbitration and the Republic of Colombia: Commercial, Comparative and Constitutional Concerns From a U.S. Perspective The Arbitration Fairness Index: Using a Public Rating System to Skirt the Legal Logjam and Promote Fairer and More Effective Arbitration of Employment and Consumer Disputes The Errors of Comity: Forum Non Conveniens Returns to the Second Circuit Empowering Settlors: How Proper Language Can Increase the Enforceability of a Mandatory Arbitration Provision in a Trust Navigating the Borders Between International Commercial Arbitration and U.S. Federal Courts: A Jurisprudential GPS Border Skirmishes: The Intersection Between Litigation and International Commercial Arbitration An Empirical Study of Predispute Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in Social Media Terms of Service Agreements Arbitration of environmental disputes Mass Procedures in Abaclat v. Argentine Republic: Are They Consistent with the International Investment Regime? Mandatory Arbitration of Internal Trust Disputes: Improving Arbitrability and Enforceability Through Proper Procedural Choices National Roundtable on Consumer and Employment Dispute Resolution: Consumer Arbitration Roundtable Summary Report Recent Supreme Court Arbitration Rulings Affect Employment and Class Action Arbitrations Mass Procedures as a Form of ‘Regulatory Arbitration’ | Abaclat v. Argentine Republic and the International Investment Regime Does Class Arbitration ‘Change the Nature’ of Arbitration? Stolt-Nielsen, AT&T and a Return to First Principles What Constitutes an ‘Agreement in Writing’ in International Commercial Arbitration? Conflicts Between the New York Convention and the Federal Arbitration Act Monism and Dualism in International Commercial Arbitration: Overcoming Barriers to Consistent Application of Principles of Public International Law Stay tuned for more 2012 Year-End Highlights!