Even Civil Procedure professors are now having fun with the “What did Hall Street mean” game, and the Fifth Circuit’s decision earlier this month in Citigroup v Bacon, (5th Cir. March 5, 2009), is the latest fodder for discussion. Beth Thornburg, of SMU Law School, and William Slomanson, of Thomas Jefferson Law School, recently posted … Continue reading Hall Street and Manifest Disregard
Today, the Supreme Court held in Discover Bank v. Vaden, http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-773.pdf, that a district court should “look through” a petition to compel arbitration to determine whether the case is predicated on a controversy that “arises under” federal law. Jurisdiction cannot be established, however, by a counterclaim if the whole complaint does not “qualify for federal … Continue reading Discover Bank v. Vaden Decided Today
On February 27, 2009, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected an arbitration award reinstating a state trooper who was fired for belonging to a group affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan. The court held that the arbitrator’s award should not be enforced because it violates the state’s public policy against race discrimination. (Nebraska State Patrol v. … Continue reading Nebraska’s Highest Court Reverses Arbitration Award on Public Policy Grounds
Fordham Law School is hosting a day-long symposium on April 3, 2009, marking the 25th anniversary of “Against Settlement.” The link to the program is: http://law.fordham.edu/ihtml/page3.ihtml?imac=1168&calID=9590 Michael Moffitt
Dear all, I am delighted to be hosting a great interdisciplinary conference next month on how conflict can be affected by the media–good, bad or otherwise. I’ve embedded the evite here so that you can click to see the program. Feel free to forward or share with anyone who might be interested. We would be … Continue reading International Media & Conflict Conference
Paula Young has undertaken an admirable (and time-sensitive) research project. She wrote the following in an email to the AALS list, and I’m sure she’d welcome input from folks across the country: I am trying to learn which states test any ADR topics on the bar exam, especially arbitration. I know that Alabama, Virginia, and … Continue reading ADR on the Bar Exam
I just received this notice from the ABA and thought that they are offering a great service so I wanted to pass this along. The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Ethics Committee has created a national clearinghouse for mediator ethics opinions and decisions. The clearinghouse provides a searchable database with hundreds of opinions on mediator … Continue reading Mediator Ethics Opinions
Yesterday Dwight Golann sent out an email encouraging attendance at the Law Professors’ Forum: Mediation Shop Talk, which will be taking place at the ABA Dispute Resolution Section conference in New York City. In case you didn’t get his message, here it is. Dear colleagues, Here is the latest on the Law Professors’ Teaching Forum: Mediation Shop … Continue reading Calling all Mediation Profs
See http://www.competitionnotconflict.com/. Unless you’re Andrea.
A federal district court in New Jersey held that a class action arbitration waiver contained in an arbitration agreement between a consumer and a business is enforceable even though the state court had held that such waivers are unconscionable. Litman v. Cellco Partnership, No. 07-CV-4886 (2008). See http://www.wileyrein.com/docs/docs/215.pdf The federal court found that the Federal … Continue reading Class Action Arbitration Waiver in Consumer Contract Enforceable