Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog

CLE Teleconference – The Future of Mandatory Arbitration

By Beth Graham - January 18, 2011

Mark your calendars! The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution presents The Future of Mandatory Arbitration: A Conversation About Dodd-Frank and the Arbitration Fairness Act. The live teleconference will be held on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 from 12:00 – 1:15 pm EST. According to the brochure, Last year Congress passed Dodd-Frank, a bill that ushered in sweeping reform in the financial services industry. This bill directs the SEC to decide whether or

GUEST-POST | 2010 U.S. Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit Activity Reports

By Beth Graham - January 10, 2011

By Don Philbin U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts released his sixth Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary on New Year’s Eve. While most of the press coverage has turned on his discussion of judicial vacancies, a three-page appendix highlights the workload of the federal courts. The Clerk of the Fifth Circuit produces a similar workload report containing insightful statistics, and the Texas Lawyer recently reviewed certain statistics for t

Houston Appeals Court Holds U.S. Courts Lack Authority Under Arbitration Agreement

By Beth Graham - January 6, 2011

In an interesting case currently on appeal to the Supreme Court of Texas, the Houston [1st] Court of Appeals vacated a trial court’s order appointing a three-person arbitration panel because the court was not the authority contemplated in the parties’ arbitration agreement. In In re Aramco Services Co., No. 01-09-00624-CV, (Tex. App. – Houston [1st], March 19, 2010), DynCorp International, LLC and Aramco entered into a contract for a comput

UT Dallas Wins National Mediation Honors for 2nd Straight Year

By Beth Graham - December 20, 2010

A team of University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) students placed first in the advocate/client division and won the Dan Stamatelos National Trophy for Advocacy at the National Mediation Tournament held November 4-6 at the Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa. 32 teams from 19 schools located across the nation participated in the tournament. An additional UT Dallas team placed second in the advocate/client division, making UT Dallas t

MCLE | Alternative Dispute Resolution Course 2011

By Beth Graham - December 16, 2010

Mark your calendars! The Texas Bar CLE presents the Alternative Dispute Resolution Course 2011, Tactical Interventions in Mediation: Preventing Bad Settlement Decisions and Impasse Minute By Minute, cosponsored by The Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Texas. The live conference will take place in Houston on January 28, 2011. A video conference will be available in San Antonio on March 4, 2011. Discussion topics will inclu

Supreme Court Denies Cert in Manifest Disregard Case

By Beth Graham - December 15, 2010

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London v. Lagstein, 10-534. The case sought to address whether a “manifest disregard of the law” standard of review for arbitration awards remains after the Court’s decision in Hall Street Associates, L.L.C v. Mattell, Inc., 552 U.S. 576 (2008). In the case, Lagstein, a medical doctor, filed a claim for disability benefits under a policy he p

CIArb Launches Major Survey Into Costs of International Arbitration

By Beth Graham - December 9, 2010

On November 26th, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) launched a major survey into the costs of international arbitration. According to the CIArb News: The ‘Costs of Arbitration’ survey will gather data to inform parties, legal representatives and arbitrators about the overall costs of international commercial arbitration and how these are incurred at each stage. The results will be analysed and presented at an internationa

UNCITRAL Revises International Arbitration Rules

By Beth Graham - December 8, 2010

After 34 years, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) has revised its International Arbitration Rules. The revised Rules seek to expedite the arbitration process and account for changes in technology since the Rules were originally adopted in 1976. According to Ben Allen and Adam Hunter of Norton Rose LLP’s Sydney Office, the following changes apply to international arbitration agreements that took effect after Augus

Guest Post Part II.B | AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion: Can Discover Bank Withstand Stolt-Nielsen Scrutiny?

By Beth Graham - December 6, 2010

Part II.B: Section 2 Express Preemption – Purposive Analysis by Philip J. Loree Jr. I. Introduction In Part II.A, we considered a textual construction of Section 2’s savings clause and concluded that it supports AT&T Mobility’s position. This Part II.B examines the savings clause from a purposive interpretation and construction standpoint. For the sake of convenience, the term “purposive” or “purposivism” is used here as a convenient way to d

TJC Medical Staff Standard to Take Effect April 1, 2011

By Holly Hayes - December 3, 2010

by Holly Hayes The American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Medical Association (AMA) sent a letter to hospital CEOs and medical staff presidents in November to remind them that The Joint Commission’s (TJC) recent revisions to hospital accreditation Standard MS.01.01.01 (formerly MS.1.20) will take effect April 1, 2011. The new standard is “designed to contribute to patient safety and quality of care through the support of