Law Commons^™

English Justice For An American Company?, Christopher French

Christopher C. French

Arbitration's Summer Soldiers: An Empirical Study Of Arbitration Clauses In Consumer And Nonconsumer Contracts, Theodore Eisenberg, Geoffrey P. Miller, Emily Sherwin

Emily L Sherwin

We provide the first study of varying use of arbitration clauses across contracts within the same firms. Using a sample of 26 consumer contracts and 164 nonconsumer contracts from large public corporations, we compared arbitration clause use in consumer contracts with their use in the same firms' nonconsumer contracts. Over three-quarters of the consumer agreements provided for mandatory arbitration but less than 10% of the firms' material nonconsumer, nonemployment contracts included arbitration clauses. The absence of arbitration provisions in nearly all material contracts suggests that, ex ante, many firms value, even prefer, litigation over arbitration to resolve disputes with peers. …

The Sound Of Silence - An Analysis Of The Incorporation Of Arbitration Terms After Contract Formation, Jonathan Muk

Jonathan Muk

R1 International Pte Ltd v Lonstroff AG [2014] SGCA 56 (“R1 International”) is significant for it affirms the position that an arbitration clause may be incorporated into a contract subsequent to its formation if there was a prior understanding to that effect. In its decision, the Court of Appeal overruled the decision of the trial judge and held that an arbitration clause stating that arbitration is to be held in Singapore was incorporated subsequent to the formation of the contract. An analysis of the case is worthwhile, since the court’s view was that the arbitration term was incorporated as a …

Effect Of Bribery In International Commercial Arbitration, Harshad Pathak, Pratyush Panjwani, Divya Srinivasan, Punya Varma

Harshad Pathak

The issue of bribery in international commercial arbitration throws up complex issues throughout the proceedings. The given paper addresses the three procedural concerns associated with claims tainted by bribery – arbitrability, admissibility, and investigative powers of arbitral tribunal. Regarding arbitrability, it is amply clear that claims tainted by bribery are no longer non-arbitrable in nature. However, an arbitral tribunal ought to proceed to the merits of the dispute only in the circumstance that such claims are found to be admissible before the tribunal. With respect to admissibility of such claims, the authors suggest that if bribery is shown to exist, …

At The Brink Of Free Agency: Creating The Foundation For The Messersmith-Mcnally Decision - 1968-1975, Edmund P. Edmonds

Edmund P. Edmonds

"One of the most dramatic periods in baseball’s long history of labor relations occurred from 1968 through 1975. The Major League Baseball Players Association negotiated baseball’s first Basic Agreement in 1968 without the benefit of any leverage that could alter most of Organized Baseball’s long practices that controlled the players’ mobility and wages. In 1975, however, the union won an arbitration panel hearing that determined that pitchers Dave McNally and Andy Messersmith were free agents after playing one full season under the renewed option year of their contracts and filing a grievance under the newly adopted arbitration process. This stunning …

Contracting Out Of Process, Contracting Out Of Corporate Accountability: An Argument Against Enforcement Of Pre-Dispute Limits On Process, Meredith R. Miller

Meredith R. Miller

There have been many well-articulated and convincing critiques aimed at mandatory arbitration. Indeed, presently before Congress is proposed legislation titled the Arbitration Fairness Act, that would ban pre-dispute arbitration in the consumer, franchise and employment contexts. However, maligned as the plaintiff bar's pro-lawsuit legislation, the Arbitration Fairness Act is predicted to have very little chance of enactment. Consequently, across varying industries, the pre-dispute arbitration regime endures unheedingly. Thus, this Article sets aside the arguments aimed generally at pre-dispute arbitration clauses and, instead, sets its sights on some of the terms that seem to arise in such clauses. The focus here …

Contracting For State Intervention, W. Mark C. Weidemaier

W. Mark C. Weidemaier

Employer's Exclusive Control Over Selection Of Arbitrators Held Invalid, Adam Epstein

Adam Epstein

Discussion of the 2003 Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals case McMullen v. Meijer, Inc. While alternative forms of dispute resolution such as arbitration and mediation are now commonplace and are effectively utilized to avoid litigation and resolve disputes between employers and employees, the procedure in the arbitration process must be fair. Upon the hire, employers often provide their employees with an employment handbook that specifically discusses procedures involving termination. Often the employee handbook, if one exists, is viewed as a contract and is often a first step in determining the proper method of dispute resolution and procedure. In this case, …

Alternative Dispute Resolution In Sport Management And The Sport Management Curriculum, Adam Epstein

Adam Epstein

The article covers the basics of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). It then demonstrates how the instructor can utilize and incorporate ADR to effectively teach in sport management classes and sports law at the intercollegiate level.