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Full-Text Articles in Law

Arbitration—From Sacred Cow To Golden Calf: Three Phases In The History Of The Federal Arbitration Act, Katherine V.W. Stone Jun 2023

Arbitration—From Sacred Cow To Golden Calf: Three Phases In The History Of The Federal Arbitration Act, Katherine V.W. Stone

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

For the past twenty-five years, without much fanfare, arbitration law has remade the civil justice system in the United States. As now interpreted, the Federal Arbitration Act (the ‘FAA’) requires millions of consumers, workers, homeowners, credit card holders, rental car uses, hospital patients, and other ordinary people to forgo use of the courts to vindicate important rights. One development that has garnered particular attention is the tendency of corporations to include class action waivers in arbitration agreements, thereby preventing consumers and employees from aggregating small claims and litigating on a collective basis. While arbitration has become ubiquitous, it has also …


Arbitration And The Right To Have Your Day In Court: Meeting Again At The Turning Of The Tide, Lucas Clover Alcolea Jun 2022

Arbitration And The Right To Have Your Day In Court: Meeting Again At The Turning Of The Tide, Lucas Clover Alcolea

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article aims to explore court decisions which have made arbitration less attractive to businesses—both those which have refused to enforce arbitration clauses and paradoxically and those which have enforced arbitration clauses—as well as to provide an overview of businesses' reactions to those decisions and make some predictions about the future direction of travel. To that end, this article will be divided into three main parts. The first will explore the decision of New Prime Inc. as well as the various federal appellate decisions that have applied it. The second will explore the challenges posed by mass arbitration, and the …


Indiana In The Midst Of #Metoo: The Argument For Enforcing Arbitration In Sexual Harassment Claims, Jonathan Cisneros May 2022

Indiana In The Midst Of #Metoo: The Argument For Enforcing Arbitration In Sexual Harassment Claims, Jonathan Cisneros

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This note argues that it is in the best interest of sexual harassment victims and the state of Indiana to not follow suit in passing legislation that prohibits employers from requiring mandatory arbitration in sexual harassment cases. This is based on an analysis of the potential factors underlying Indiana’s current lack of legislative movement, the weight of the arguments for and against mandatory arbitration, and consideration of the preemption issues surrounding state laws banning mandatory arbitration. Part II sets the foundation for this note by laying out the most pertinent parts of the FAA and analyzing how the U.S. Supreme …


You Be The Judge: Analyzing When The Federal Arbitration Act's Judicial Review Standards Apply In State Court, Max Birmingham May 2022

You Be The Judge: Analyzing When The Federal Arbitration Act's Judicial Review Standards Apply In State Court, Max Birmingham

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article addresses whether, when the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) governs an arbitration, the FAA’s judicial review standards apply in state court and preempt application of different state law judicial review standards. This argument proceeds as follows: Part I provides an introduction. Part II analyzes the procedural reform intent of the FAA and why the statute seeks to standardize the arbitration process. Part III reviews the judicial review of arbitration awards as promulgated in Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc. Part IV reviews the generations of FAA cases which have been held to be preempted by SCOTUS. Part V …


The Paga Saga, Tamar Meshel Apr 2022

The Paga Saga, Tamar Meshel

Pepperdine Law Review

Employees routinely enter into employment contracts that contain arbitration ‎agreements and prohibit ‎them from bringing class and/or representative actions. These employees may therefore only bring claims against their ‎employers, ‎whether contractual or statutory, in arbitration on an individual basis. Such arbitration agreements and the class/representative action waivers that they contain are enforced nationwide pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). In California, however, a judge-made rule (the Iskanian rule) prohibits the enforcement of representative action waivers found in arbitration agreements with respect to employees’ claims of Labor Code violations under California’s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA). A judicial battle is …


In Contracts We Trust (And No One Can Change Their Mind)! There Should Be No Special Treatment For Religious Arbitration, Michael J. Broyde, Alexa J. Windsor Apr 2021

In Contracts We Trust (And No One Can Change Their Mind)! There Should Be No Special Treatment For Religious Arbitration, Michael J. Broyde, Alexa J. Windsor

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Arbitration Agreements – What Is The Employee Actually Signing Up For?, Kennedy Poe Oct 2019

Arbitration Agreements – What Is The Employee Actually Signing Up For?, Kennedy Poe

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

This note will examine the various effects and implications the Supreme Court’s decision concerning the legality of class action waivers within employee-employer contracts will have on employers, employees, and the contracts made between them. Part I will identify class action waivers within an employment contract’s arbitration agreement and will further elaborate upon the legal implications of such waivers being present in the contract. Part II will then discuss the history of the NLRA and assess its present-day role in employee–employer contract formation, in order to provide clarity as to the dispute that has arisen between the NLRA and class action …


Uber Hitches A Ride With Arbitration: How Pro-Arbitration Attitudes And Uber Will Prevail In California And The Ninth Circuit, Neil Eddington Oct 2017

Uber Hitches A Ride With Arbitration: How Pro-Arbitration Attitudes And Uber Will Prevail In California And The Ninth Circuit, Neil Eddington

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Part I of this article will introduce Uber and describe how the sharing economy functions. This section will explain Uber’s current conflict with their drivers regarding arbitration agreements and why the stakes are so high. Part II will explore the FAA—its history, original legislative intent and purpose—in order to provide a baseline from which to contrast its current broad application. Part III will highlight Supreme Court jurisprudence on arbitration to illustrate how the FAA is now expansively interpreted contrary to its original limited scope. This Part will culminate in an examination of the Concepcion and American Express majority and dissenting …


Cross-Border Insolvencies: To “Universalize” Or To Arbitrate?, Young Hye (Martina) Chun Oct 2017

Cross-Border Insolvencies: To “Universalize” Or To Arbitrate?, Young Hye (Martina) Chun

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This note makes a cost-benefit analysis of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code Chapter 15 and International Commercial Arbitration in the context of cross-border bankruptcy proceedings. Part I sets the stage by providing two opposing theoretical approaches to cross-border insolvencies: territorialism and universalism. Part II introduces the UNCITRAL’s Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, which is incorporated into the U.S. Bankruptcy Code Chapter 15. It presents how the Model Law has attempted to compensate for the lack of a global court by incorporating universalism. Part III demonstrates that while Chapter 15 sounds good in theory, it fails to address the very issue it …


Religious Arbitration And Its Struggles With American Law & Judicial Review, Sukhsimranjit Singh Oct 2017

Religious Arbitration And Its Struggles With American Law & Judicial Review, Sukhsimranjit Singh

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Bg Group V. Republic Of Argentina: A Supreme Misunderstanding Of Investment Treaty Arbitration, Jarrod Wong Apr 2016

Bg Group V. Republic Of Argentina: A Supreme Misunderstanding Of Investment Treaty Arbitration, Jarrod Wong

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Constitutional Right To Discovery? Creating And Reinforcing Due Process Norms Through The Procedural Laboratory Of Arbitration, Imre Stephen Szalai Feb 2016

A Constitutional Right To Discovery? Creating And Reinforcing Due Process Norms Through The Procedural Laboratory Of Arbitration, Imre Stephen Szalai

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article explores an overlooked dynamic between arbitration and the more formal court system. As developed in more detail below, this article's thesis is that arbitration can help define and reinforce due process norms applicable in court, and a due process-like norm regarding discovery is beginning to develop. Courts often review arbitration agreements for fairness, and through this judicial review, courts have developed a body of law discussing and defining whether certain procedures (or the lack thereof) violate fairness norms in connection with the resolution of a particular dispute. Through this body of law exploring procedural fairness, one can identify …


Whistling In Silence: The Implications Of Arbitration On Qui Tam Claims Under The False Claims Act, Mathew Andrews Feb 2016

Whistling In Silence: The Implications Of Arbitration On Qui Tam Claims Under The False Claims Act, Mathew Andrews

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

For nearly twenty years, corporate defendants have sought unsuccessfully to use arbitration to roll back protections for whistleblowers suing under federal law. The state and federal judiciaries have long stymied these efforts, on the grounds that defendants cannot force the Government's claims into the secretive forum of arbitration. In January 2013, this protection came to an end. A federal court ruled for the first time that a whistleblower suing on behalf of the United States must pursue its action in arbitration. Five months later, this trend continued as federal courts have compelled arbitration of state law qui tam actions. This …


The Evolution And Decline Of The Effective-Vindication Doctrine In U.S. Arbitration Law, Okezie Chukwumerije Sep 2014

The Evolution And Decline Of The Effective-Vindication Doctrine In U.S. Arbitration Law, Okezie Chukwumerije

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article offers information on the history, significance and role of the effective-vindication doctrine in U.S. arbitration law in promoting access to justice. It analyzes the significance of broad policy implications regarding the interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) by the Court facilitating the arbitration of commercial disputes and protecting the statutory rights of consumers in the context of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Randolph.


“Final” Awards Reconceptualized: A Proposal To Resolve The Hall Street Circuit Split, Matthew J. Brown Feb 2014

“Final” Awards Reconceptualized: A Proposal To Resolve The Hall Street Circuit Split, Matthew J. Brown

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article discusses the current circuit split over the continued validity of manifest disregard of the law (“manifest disregard”) as a nonstatutory ground for vacatur of arbitration awards under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). Today, as commercial parties decide whether to include arbitration agreements in their business contracts, they weigh the risks of proceeding to arbitration versus litigation to resolve their disputes. This topic is especially pertinent in light of the current economic climate. Dicta from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc. called into question the continued validity of nonstatutory grounds for vacatur. …


Unraveling The Mystery Of Wilko V. Swan: American Arbitration Vacatur Law And The Accidental Demise Of Party Autonomy , James M. Gaitis Mar 2012

Unraveling The Mystery Of Wilko V. Swan: American Arbitration Vacatur Law And The Accidental Demise Of Party Autonomy , James M. Gaitis

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article begins with a brief description of what the Wilko Court said with respect to the vacatur of arbitral awards and how federal and state appellate courts have construed that language. Traditional American arbitration vacatur law, including but not limited to the cases relied upon by the Wilko Court, are then reviewed in depth such that the Wilko decision and the Wilko Court's choice of language may be placed in context and fully examined. The intent and proper operation of the FAA are then discussed based on both the legislative history of the FAA and other authorities that consistently …


Foreclosure By Arbitration?, R. Wilson Freyermuth Feb 2012

Foreclosure By Arbitration?, R. Wilson Freyermuth

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Manifest' Destiny: The Fate Of The 'Manifest Disregard Of The Law' Doctrine After Hall Street V. Mattel, Karly A. Kauf Jan 2012

Manifest' Destiny: The Fate Of The 'Manifest Disregard Of The Law' Doctrine After Hall Street V. Mattel, Karly A. Kauf

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

The Federal Arbitration Act was enacted in 1925 in reaction to widespread judicial resistance to arbitration. While it is difficult to imagine that the drafters of this legislation could have envisioned how prominent arbitration would become in the United States, it is clear that their intention was to ensure that contracts to arbitrate would be enforced and that the intent of the parties would be maintained. In the more than eighty years since the passage of the Act, courts have repeatedly been called on to interpret the Act in order to determine its effect on real world situations. Recently, the …