Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog

Special Masters: How To Make the Best of Both Worlds, Part V

By Merril Hirsh, James M. Rhodes, Karl Bayer - January 12, 2015

In Part Four we began to discuss solutions (not just problems), and urged that a first step in incentivizing counsel to hold down litigation costs is to have a neutral oversee the process of discovery closely enough (1) to make it in counsel’s interest to act reasonably in the first place; and (2) to rule on unreasonable demands or failures to respond to discovery quickly, so that they gain no tactical advantage.

Fraport v. Philippines, ICSID, and Counsel Disqualification: The Power and the Praxis

By Beth Graham - January 12, 2015

Catherine A. Rogers, Professor of Law, Paul and Marjorie Price Faculty Scholar, and Professor of Ethics, Regulation, and The Rule of Law at Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law, and Alex Wiker, Post-Graduate Fellow in International Arbitration at Pennsylvania State University, have published “Fraport v. Philippines, ICSID, and Counsel Disqualification: The Power and the Praxis,” Journal of World Investment and Trade, 2014. In

Corpus Christi COA Holds Arbitration Agreement Was Not Unconscionable in Construction Dispute

By Beth Graham - January 9, 2015

In Valli Construction, Inc. v. Alvites Concrete Services, No. 13-13-00295-CV (Tex. App – Corpus Christi, December 30, 2014), a Chevrolet dealership hired a general contractor, Valli, to build a structure for the company. Valli then hired two local subcontractors to complete concrete and plumbing work on the project.

U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Review Case Where Mediator Conflict Existed

By Beth Graham - January 8, 2015

The United States Supreme Court has reportedly been asked to review a federal court’s order refusing to set aside a jury’s verdict where a court-appointed mediator failed to disclose his close personal relationship with a partner at the law firm representing several of the defendants.

Faith-Based Arbitration Clauses as a Global Alternative to Dispute Resolution

By Beth Graham - January 5, 2015

Albert D. Spalding Jr., Attorney and Associate Professor of Legal Studies at Wayne State University, has authored a thought provoking paper entitled “Faith-Based Arbitration Clauses as a Global Alternative to Dispute Resolution,” Review of Business & Finance Studies, v. 5 (2) p. 1-8, 2014.