As reported by PointofLaw.com, the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on September 15th, titled “Mandatory Binding Arbitration – Is it Fair and Voluntary?“ Witnesses included: Rep. Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (D-GA), sponsor of H.R. 1020 (a.k.a. “Arbitration Fairness Act”). The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 would ban mandatory pre-dispute arbitration in employment, consumer, and franchise contracts. House version: H.R. 1020 and Status. Senate version: S. 931 and Status. (read the testimony here and press release here) Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-CA), sponsor of H.R. 1237 (a.k.a. “Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act”). The Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2009 would render pre-dispute arbitration clauses in nursing home contracts unenforceable. House version: H.R. 1237 and Status. Senate version: S. 512 and Status. (read the testimony here and press release here) Alison Hirschel, National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care. (read the testimony here) Stuart T. Rossman, National Consumer Law Center. (read the testimony here) Stephen J. Ware, University of Kansas School of Law. (read the testimony here) Cliff Palefsky, National Employment Lawyers Association. (read the testimony here) Technorati Tags: arbitration, ADR, law, legislation, Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009, Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2009
Continue reading...Peter S. Vogel, trial partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP and contributor to this blog, wrote an interesting piece about the role that a special master plays in electronic evidence disputes. Mr. Vogel writes that a special master in e-discovery usually: conducts interviews of IT employees; reviews software; examines data; searches websites; holds hearings on various disputes; assists judges by reviewing motions for summary judgment; and has private meetings with judges. Mr. Vogel also discusses three cases in which he was appointed the special master. The cases relate to e-mail authorship, copyright infringement, and improper billing. Read the full article here. Technorati Tags: law, special master, Texas, e-discovery
Continue reading...On May 21, 2009 Disputing and the Loree Reinsurance and Arbitration Law Forum announced the formation of the LinkedIn Commercial and Industry Arbitration and Mediation Group (post available here), an open forum for the discussion of industry and commercial ADR. The group is co-managed by Philip J. Loree Jr., Karl Bayer, Don Philbin, Robert Bear, and Victoria VanBuren. We are pleased to share with you that the group has since grown to 292 members. Discussions have been lively, the group is internationally and professionally diverse, and group members have access to several ADR blogs, as well as articles posted by other group members. It is an excellent networking and learning opportunity for anyone interested in commercial and industry ADR. Membership in the group is recommended to those interested in keeping abreast of current events pertinent to arbitration (including consumer arbitration), tracking judicial and legislative developments relevant to arbitration law, learning more about the subject, or simply sharing information. We are proud to have as members a number of commercial and industry arbitrators, attorneys, industry people and arbitration professionals. Membership is also recommended if you are a mediator, a business person who utilizes mediation to resolve disputes, an attorney who represent clients in mediation or a person interested in learning about mediation or sharing information on the subject. The group is proud to have as members a number of accomplished mediators, including some well-known ADR bloggers. Not being a mediator myself, I have learned much about mediation simply through group participation. We welcome new members. The group is not a forum for, and does not permit, advertising or blatant self-promotion, so our members need not be concerned about being subject to sales pitches, and the like. If you are already a member of LinkedIn, please click
Continue reading...by Holly Hayes President Obama’s Plan on Health Care (discussed here and outlined here) includes a provision on medical malpractice reform that instructs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award medical malpractice demonstration grants to states funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Following are some responses from industry leaders: American Hospital Association (AHA) President and CEO, Rich Umbdenstock, said, “We appreciate the President’s willingness to explore better alternatives to today’s medical liability system, and urge that even stronger actions be taken in this area to reign in excessive lawsuits that are currently driving physicians to practice defensive medicine and raise the cost of care for everyone.” (find the statement here) American Medical Association (AMA) President, J. James Rohack, MD, comments, “President Obama recognized what physicians have long known – that medical liability reform is needed to bring down the cost of health care, and he is directing the Department of Health and Human Services to take action now. Recognizing the critical need for medical liability reform is an important step toward reducing unnecessary costs. Everyday physicians across the country are forced to consider the broken medical liability system when making decisions, resulting in defensive medicine that adds to unnecessary health costs. We cannot ignore this problem if health-system reform is going to address the growing cost of care.” (find the statement here) American Nursing Association (ANA) President Rebecca Patton praised President Obama at his first public appearance on health care reform since addressing Congress for advocating for people who lack access to basic health care services in the nation’s “broken system” and for fighting for consumer protections in the health insurance market. (find the statement here) Technorati Tags: Tort Reform, Healthcare President Obama, speech September 9, arbitration, ADR, law, mediation Holly Hayes is a mediator at Karl Bayer, Dispute Resolution Expert where she focuses on mediation of health care disputes. Holly holds a B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a Masters in Health Administration from Duke University. She can be reached at: holly@karlbayer.com.
Continue reading...Disputing is published by Karl Bayer, a dispute resolution expert based in Austin, Texas. Articles published on Disputing aim to provide original insight and commentary around issues related to arbitration, mediation and the alternative dispute resolution industry.
To learn more about Karl and his team, or to schedule a mediation or arbitration with Karl’s live scheduling calendar, visit www.karlbayer.com.
Disputing is published by Karl Bayer, a dispute resolution expert based in Austin, Texas. Articles published on Disputing aim to provide original insight and commentary around issues related to arbitration, mediation and the alternative dispute resolution industry.
To learn more about Karl and his team, or to schedule a mediation or arbitration with Karl’s live scheduling calendar, visit www.karlbayer.com.