Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog

California Court Holds Class Action Waiver Unenforceable

By Beth Graham - October 6, 2010

The Eastern District Court of California has held a class action arbitration agreement waiver unenforceable and refused to compel arbitration against a former employee seeking class action status. In Mathias v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., No. S-10-1476 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 15, 2010), Ryan Mathias, a former Assistant Manager of a Rent-A-Center (RAC) located in California filed a class action lawsuit in California state court which alleged eight claims relate

Connecticut Mandates Mediation in Medical Malpractice Cases

By Beth Graham - October 1, 2010

by Holly Hayes U.S. Politics Today reported that in Connecticut, “as of July 1, the presiding judge over a medical malpractice case must refer the case to a 120-day mediation period or other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process ‘before the close of proceedings.’” The stated purpose of the new statute which mandates mediation in medical malpractice cases is to achieve a “prompt settlement or resolution of the civil action.” The

Article | FINRA to Propose New Rule For All-Public Arbitration Panels

By Beth Graham - September 30, 2010

Next month, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) will file a rule proposal to expand a two-year-old Public Arbitrator Pilot Program (pilot program) which would allow all investors filing arbitration claims the option of having an all-public arbitration panel. FINRA’s rule proposal will be filed for approval with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If approved, the rule would allow investors to choose an arbitration panel with t

Implementation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)

By Beth Graham - September 24, 2010

by Holly Hayes In his book, Beyond Neutrality, Bernard Mayer says, “Conflict resolution professionals are not significantly involved in the major conflicts of our times. Many conflict resolution practitioners play useful but essentially marginal roles in large-scale public conflicts… we are not involved at the center of the conflict or decision-making processes.” This week, we posted about “clinical integration” or the creation of Accountable Car

Connecticut Judicial Branch Reports Home Foreclosure Mediation Program Statistics

By Beth Graham - September 22, 2010

The State of Connecticut has released statistics for its Foreclosure Mediation Program. The program allows borrower-occupants of a one, two, three or four family residential property located within the state to request mediation when facing judicial foreclosure. When a lender commences a foreclosure action, it must serve a notice to the homeowner along with a Foreclosure Mediation Certificate and an appearance request form. If a homeowner qualifi

Can Clinical Integration Reform Healthcare?

By Beth Graham - September 20, 2010

We have heard a lot about reforming healthcare through clinical integration lately. On October 5, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission “will co-host a workshop on several issues associated with Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), organizations authorized by the new Affordable Care Act that seek to deliver high-quality and efficient health care services to consumers. Joining the FTC in hosting the event are the Centers for Medicare & Me

Mediation Used in Health Care Labor Relations

By Beth Graham - September 16, 2010

by Holly Hayes When we saw this link on mediate.com about nurses requesting mediation to achieve safe staffing levels, we wondered where else mediation was being requested in healthcare conflict. A search found that in September, mediation was used, but failed, between the Minnesota Nurses Association and St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth, MN. A nurses’ union in New Jersey requested mediation in July for their negotiations with hospital m

Article | Less than Half of Miami-Dade County Homeowners Comply With Court Ordered Foreclosure Mediation

By Beth Graham - September 13, 2010

In January, the Florida Supreme Court ordered mediation on all home foreclosure cases. According to Miami Today, less than half of homeowners in Miami-Dade County have complied with state-mandated mediation since January. Miami-Dade County is one of three Florida counties that ran a managed mediation pilot program prior to the state-mandated mediation order. The Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program administered by the non-profit Collins Center

How Healthcare Staff Can Impact Quality

By Holly Hayes - September 10, 2010

by Holly Hayes Our good friend, Don Philbin, sent us this link to a Harvard Business School article about “Turning Employees Into Problem Solvers” in healthcare. The article looks specifically at incident-reporting systems in hospitals and, rightly so, suggests that any system used to report and track incidents in healthcare should contribute to the implementation of actions to correct for those incidents resulting in higher quality c

Texas Bar Journal Article: “What You Always Wanted to Know About Arbitration”

By Beth Graham - September 8, 2010

Texas Bar Journal September 2010 | Volume 73, 8 This issue features an interesting article entitled “What You Always Wanted to Know About Arbitration” written by Scott D. Marrs and Sean P. Milligan. The article seeks to answer five key arbitration questions recently decided by the courts: 1. Can the parties agree that an arbitration award is appealable? In Hall Street Associates, Inc. v. Mattel, Inc., No. 06-989, 552 U.S. 576 (2008), the U.S. Sup