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Full-Text Articles in Law
Head Of The Class: Oxford Health Plans And The Uncertain Future Of Class Arbitrability Determinations, Kevin Sack
Head Of The Class: Oxford Health Plans And The Uncertain Future Of Class Arbitrability Determinations, Kevin Sack
Journal of Dispute Resolution
Arbitration clauses allow contracting parties to resolve their contractual disputes without being subjected to lengthy and expensive judicial processes. Arbitrators are authorized to interpret contractual arbitration agreements to determine which issues the parties agreed to arbitrate. However, contract arbitration provisions are often silent as to the availability of class action procedures. Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter held that, when parties expressly agree to allow an arbitrator to interpret whether their agreement allows class action arbitration, the arbitrator does not exceed his authority in doing so, regardless of interpretive error.' This note first discusses how the United States Supreme Court …
Future Of Mandatory Employee Arbitration Agreements, The, Marcy Greenwade
Future Of Mandatory Employee Arbitration Agreements, The, Marcy Greenwade
Journal of Dispute Resolution
First, this note examines the historical interpretations of arbitration agreements under the FAA and the NLRA. Next, it explores the reasoning behind the discrepancies that exist between the judicial and administrative arbitration decisions. Additionally, this note assesses the lack of a uniform standard and its effect on decision makers, employers, and employees. Lastly, this note evaluates the potential implications of a liberal policy favoring arbitration in the context of mandatory employee arbitration agreements.
If It Only Had A Heart: Supreme Court Eschews Compassion For Cash-Strapped Consumers In Upholding The Validity Of Arbitration Clauses In Credit Repair Contracts, Collin Koenig
Journal of Dispute Resolution
in CompuCredit Corp. v. Greenwood, the Supreme Court was faced with the issue of whether consumers' claims under the CROA can be resolved through contractually required arbitration, or whether the language of the statute requires resolution between credit repair organizations and consumers may include enforceable arbitration agreements. This note criticizes the Supreme Court's reasoning, partly inspired by Justice Ginsburg's dissent. In enforcing arbitrability of CROA disputes, the Court has acted contrary to Congress' purposes of the Act: to ensure that consumers are making an "informed decision" when dealing with CROs and to protect consumers from deceptive credit repair services. In …
Concerning Preemption: Upholding Consent Under The Federal Arbitration Act Note, Shane Blank
Concerning Preemption: Upholding Consent Under The Federal Arbitration Act Note, Shane Blank
Journal of Dispute Resolution
AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion represents the latest failed effort by a state to assert some level of control over consensual arbitration agreements. It also represents an affirmation by the U.S. Supreme Court of a long-standing notion that arbitration agreements, standing on equal footing with other contracts, must be enforced according to their terms-holding consent to be the paramount consideration in judicial analysis. This note will examine the lengthy history of the FAA's preemptive power under the Supremacy Clause, explore the U.S. Supreme Court's time-honored rationale for choosing when to exercise its preemptive powers to invalidate state law, and evaluate …
De Novo A No No: Contractually Expanded Judicial Review Clauses Do Not Preclude Faa Application In State Court Unless The Parties Make It Intentionally Clear The Faa Does Not Apply In Their Agreement - Raymond James Fin. Servs., Inc. V. Honea, Tom Swoboda
Journal of Dispute Resolution
This Note addresses a recent Alabama Supreme Court decision concerning the issue of contracted appellate review in arbitration agreements. After analyzing the history of enforcement of arbitration agreements between contracting parties in U.S. Supreme Court precedent, this Note will explore the most recent Supreme Court decision regarding when parties may seek judicial review of arbitration awards. The Federal Arbitration Act's (FAA) preemptive effect over state court law will also be addressed, as the Supreme Court was not thoroughly explanatory on the issue. This Note will also evaluate and compare another state court ruling in Pennsylvania on the same judicial review …
New Judicial Hostility To Arbitration: Federal Preemption, Contract Unconscionability, And Agreements To Arbitrate, The, Steven J. Burton
New Judicial Hostility To Arbitration: Federal Preemption, Contract Unconscionability, And Agreements To Arbitrate, The, Steven J. Burton
Journal of Dispute Resolution
Part I of this Article sketches the basics of arbitration law and practice, and traces the development of the federal policy favoring arbitration, to establish a basis for evaluating contemporary judicial decisions. Part II examines the justification for the policy favoring arbitration and the reasons contracting parties may prefer arbitration. Part III evaluates the reasons courts give for finding arbitration agreements in employment and consumer contexts unconscionable, and therefore, unenforceable. The conclusion is that many courts make many clearly erroneous decisions, including decisions that are unconstitutional because they are preempted.
Federalism Versus The Greater Good ... Should Powerful Franchisors Be Allowed To Contract For The Home Court Advantage Through Forum Selection Clauses - Kkw Enterprises, Inc. V. Gloria Jean's Gourmet Coffees Franchising Corp., Nathan E. Ross
Journal of Dispute Resolution
When Congress condified the Federal Arbitration Act (F.A.A.), it sought to make arbitration a viable alternative to tradition litigation. Since the enactment of the FAA, the United States Supreme Court has addressed and answered numerous issues regarding the functioning of the FAA. However, the Supreme Court has yet to determine whether the FAA preempts state laws that invalidate forum selection clauses contained in franchise agreements. In Gloria Jean's, the First Circuit Court of Appeals squarely faced this issue and held that the FAA preempts state laws that attempt to negate the terms contained in a forum selection provision of a …
Judicial Review Of Contract Interpretation By Labor Arbitrators: Whose Brand Of Industrial Justice - Houston Lighting & (And) Power Co. V. Int'l Bhd. Of Elec. Workers, Local Union No. 66, Michael G. Munsell
Journal of Dispute Resolution
The United States Supreme Court has prescribed the deference owed to an arbitrator's interpretation of labor agreements. The Court's decisions have made clear the narrow grounds upon which an arbitration award may be reversed. In Houston Lighting & Power Co. v. Int'l Bhd of Elec. Workers, Local Union No. 66, the employer claimed that the labor arbitrator had exceeded his authority by misinterpreting the labor agreement. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had to weigh the policy of deference to the arbitrator's interpretation against the need to ensure that the arbitrator acted within the authority which the parties to the …
Contractual Agreements To Aribtrate Disputes: Whose Intent Controls - Skewes V. Shearson Lehman Bros., Eric M. Landoll
Contractual Agreements To Aribtrate Disputes: Whose Intent Controls - Skewes V. Shearson Lehman Bros., Eric M. Landoll
Journal of Dispute Resolution
With the enactment of the Federal Arbitration Act [hereinafter F.A.A.]2 in 1925, Congress attempted to place arbitration agreements "upon the same footing as other contracts."3 This Act, later described as a "liberal federal policy favoring arbitration, "' creates a presumption in favor of arbitration where ambiguities arise as to the scope of an agreement.5 Under this interpretation, it appears that the intent of the parties can be overlooked in favor of the federal policy favoring arbitration. This is contrary to general principles of contract interpretation and would appear to be a trap for those unfamiliar with this area of the …
Demise Of The Faa's Contract Of Employment Exception - Gilmer V. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., The, Michael G. Holcomb
Demise Of The Faa's Contract Of Employment Exception - Gilmer V. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., The, Michael G. Holcomb
Journal of Dispute Resolution
The recent trend in the federal courts is to expand the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act2 (FAA) to include statutory claims. 3 Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp. illustrates this trend by compelling claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 19674 (ADEA) to arbitration pursuant to an arbitration clause in an employment contract' But does this trend neglect the rights of the individual employee vis-a-vis his employer and does it undermine the purpose of the "contract of employment" exception in the FAA?' This Note will examine the Gilmer case and its adherence to the current trend of expanding …
Grievance Mediation Of Contracual Disputes In Public Education, Sylvia Skratek
Grievance Mediation Of Contracual Disputes In Public Education, Sylvia Skratek
Journal of Dispute Resolution
This summary provides an overview of the findings of the study. There are, of course, many findings in the body of the report which are not summarized here, and interested readers are encouraged to examine the full report for these details.