Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog » 2010

Where Does Mediation Fit in the Spectrum of Healthcare Conflict Resolution?

By Holly Hayes - June 4, 2010

By Holly Hayes How big is the issue of conflict in healthcare? The accrediting body for hospitals, The Joint Commission, issued standard (LD.01.03.01) in January 2009 recognizing the need to better manage conflict in the healthcare setting. The Standard states: “The governing body is ultimately accountable for the safety and quality of care, treatment, and services.” During on-site accreditation visits, The Joint Commission reviewers “score” the

SEC Seeks Comments on FINRA’s Arbitration Rule Change

By Victoria VanBuren - June 3, 2010

Via the ADR Prof Blog, we learned that on May 19, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published for public comment a FINRA Rule Change Relating to Amending the Codes of Arbitration Procedure to Increase the Number of Arbitrators on Lists Generated by the Neutral List Selection System. Find the text of the proposed rule change here. The comment period expires on June 16, 2010. All Comments should refer to File Number SR-FINRA-2010-02

GUEST-POST | Possible Outcomes for Class Arbitration Waivers in Consumer Contracts

By Victoria VanBuren - June 2, 2010

[Ed. note: Following find interesting comments about AT&T v. Concepcion, a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more about the case here. These comments were first posted at Paul Lurie’s excellent listserv and we are reprinting them with the author’s permission.] By James M. Gaitis Ultimately, we are faced with at least four different possible outcomes for consumer arbitration provisions containing class preclusion clauses.

U.S. Supreme Court Denies Cert to Tobacco Arbitration Case

By Victoria VanBuren - June 1, 2010

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Montana, No. 09-911. The question presented was whether the Montana Supreme Court violated the Federal Arbitration Act by refusing to compel arbitration of a dispute between tobacco companies and settling states that courts of other states and territories have held arbitrable under the plain terms of the nationwide Master Settlement Agreement. Links to the case br

CPR Webcast, June 8, 2010 |Deal or No Deal: Leveraging Information to Overcome Psychological Barriers to Efficient Deals

By Victoria VanBuren - June 1, 2010

Mark your calendars! Don Philbin, contributor of this blog, will host next week an interesting Webcast entitled “Deal or No Deal: Leveraging Information to Overcome Psychological Barriers to Efficient Deals.” Following is the program description: Using newly-developed computer animation models and traditional decision trees, we will explore the interactive use of outcome scenarios as a means to overcome barriers to settlement. By elic

GUEST-POST PART II | Questions Clients Have about Mediation: What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediation?

By Victoria VanBuren - June 1, 2010

By Kent B. Scott and Cody W. Wilson Clients always want to know the advantages and disadvantages of mediation. Without this information it would be difficult to decide whether to mediate. Here is a brief list of mediation’s main advantages. Little discovery is needed. Mediation can take place without having to complete the time-consuming and expensive “discovery process” associated with litigation. (In discovery, the parties can ask each other to