Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog

Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 – H.R. 1020 Gaining Momentum?

By Victoria VanBuren - November 11, 2009

Karl Bayer and I were discussing the latest bill tracking report for the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009. This act 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). The House version of the bill has been very active, now with 99 co-sponsors (the list is here). Karl wonders if Senator Franken’s amendment and related press ha

Texas Supreme Court Compels Arbitration of Employment Discrimination Claims

By Victoria VanBuren - November 10, 2009

The Supreme Court of Texas held that an agreement to arbitrate discrimination claims between an employee and a staffing agency hired by the employer survives the dissolution of the contract between the staffing agency and employer. In the present case, In re Polymerica, __S.W.3d __ (Tex. 2009) (No. 08-1064), Polymerica, L.L.C. d.b.a Global Enterprises, Inc. (“Global”), a manufacture of plastics, hired Angelica Soltero in 1998. In 2002, Global con

The Future of Software Patents: U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Bilski v. Kappos

By Victoria VanBuren - November 9, 2009

As previously discussed, today the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for Bilski v. Kappos, a high-stakes software patent case (the transcript is here). In Bilski, the Federal Circuit rejected patent claims involving a method of hedging risks in commodities trading. The U.S. Supreme Court is now asked to decide whether the Patent Act contemplates the patentability of business methods –which include software patents. Links to the case docume

Texas County Establishes Voluntary Mediation Program

By Victoria VanBuren - November 6, 2009

Hays County, Texas just launched a voluntary mediation program for family and civil disputes. The Hays County commissioners signed a contract with the Central Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution (CTADR), a local ADR firm that will provide the mediation services. The mediation program is effective from October 1, 2009 until September 30, 2010 and applies to disputes between neighbors, employers and employees, consumers and merchants, landlords an

Florida Arbitration Law: Wife Verbally OK’s Husband to Sign Papers Is Agency to Sign Arbitration Clause

By Victoria VanBuren - November 5, 2009

In contrast to our discussion of Koricic v. Beverly Enters. in which the Nebraska Supreme Court held that a son lacked authority to sign an arbitration agreement on behalf of his mother, a recent trial court in Florida ruled in Christenson, v. The Abbey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center that a husband had apparent authority to sign a nursing home arbitration agreement. From Florida Arbitration Law.com: In Christenson, the validity of an arbitrati

Texas Supreme Court: Insurance Coverage Dispute Involving a $1.5 Million Arbitration Award

By Victoria VanBuren - November 5, 2009

Within the five opinions released by the Texas Supreme Court on October 30, Chrysler Insurance Co. v. Greenspoint Dodge of Houston, Inc., (Texas 2009) (No. 08?0780) caught our attention. The case deals with a dispute over insurance coverage to pay for a $1.5 million defamation arbitration award granted to Noe Martinez, a former employee of Greenspoint. The award was confirmed by a district court in Harris County back in 2002. See Martinez. v. Gre

Nebraska Supreme Court Refuses to Compel Arbitration in Nursing Home Case

By Victoria VanBuren - November 4, 2009

The present case comes as the U.S. Congress considers the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2009. This Act would render pre-dispute arbitration clauses in nursing home contracts unenforceable (Senate version: S.512 and Status; House version: H.R. 1237 and Status). In Koricic v. Beverly Enters., 278 Neb. 713 (No. S-08-1167), Frank Koricic took his elderly mother, Manda Baker, to Beverly Hallmark (now operating as Beverly Enterprises), a

Medical Liability Reform Debate

By Victoria VanBuren - November 3, 2009

by Holly Hayes Medical liability reform has not been an area of focus in the health reform debate since September when President Obama directed the Department of Health and Human Services to provide $25 million for medical liability reform and patient safety planning grants. A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, also mentioned on Disputing (post available here) may reinvigorate the medical liability reform debate. Details on this debate and

Harvard Negotiation Law Review Article: “Decisional Errors– On the Field, On the Bench, In Negotiations”

By Victoria VanBuren - November 2, 2009

We invite you to read the Harvard Negotiation Law Review lead article entitled “Decisional Errors – On the Field, On the Bench, In Negotiations” written by Disputing’s blog contributor Don Philbin. Needless to say, anything Don writes is worth reading. Find the full article here. Technorati Tags: ADR, law, negotiations