Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog » Court Decisions about Arbitration

Arbitration Clauses are Enforceable even in Illegal Contracts

By Rob Hargrove - February 21, 2006

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited (by us anyway) opinion in the Buckeye Check Cashing Case today. The majority opinion (link is to .pdf version), written by Justice Scalia for a 7-1 majority (Alito did not participate), reverses a decision by the Florida Supreme Court which held that a court, and not an arbitrator, must determine whether or not a contract between a check cashing company and consumers was an illegal violation of

Fifth Circuit Upholds Punitive Damages Award

By Rob Hargrove - February 9, 2006

In an opinion (link is to .pdf file) filed Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a trial court decision to confirm an arbitral award which contained a punitive damages award for the arbitral plaintiff. The case involved a woman’s breach of fiduciary duty claims against the managers of an investment portfolio she received as part of a divorce settlement. The arbitral panel found that the investment company did in fact breach its duty to the

Unsolicited Faxes in Texas

By Rob Hargrove - February 3, 2006

The Texas Supreme Court ruled this morning that Texans did not acquire the right to privately invoke the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) until the Texas Legislature amended the Business & Commerce Code to allow Texas court to hear private suits based on the TCPA on September 1, 1999. The TCPA, which was passed in 1991, allowed individuals to sue companies that send unsolicited facsimile advertisements “if

Supreme Court forces Defamation Claim to Arbitration

By Rob Hargrove - January 27, 2006

This morning, the Texas Supreme Court issued a mandamus opinion in an arbitration case holding that a fired worker’s defamation claim against her erstwhile employer was subject to an arbitration agreement, which required arbitration of personal injury claims. According to the Court, since the agreement was susceptible to two reasonable interpretations, one holding that defamation is a personal injury and one holding that it is not, arbitrat

More on McCarran-Ferguson Reverse Preemption

By Rob Hargrove - January 24, 2006

As you may or may not recall, we discussed the doctrine of McCarran-Ferguson Reverse Preemption some time ago and noted that it was working its way through the Texas Courts of Appeals. This past week (on January 11 actually), the Fifth Circuit weighed in, affirming a trial court denial of a motion to compel arbitration on McCarran Ferguson grounds. Under Mississippi law, an uninsured motorist automobile insurance policy cannot require arbitration

Fifth Circuit Affirms Decision to Vacate Arbitral Award

By Rob Hargrove - January 12, 2006

Yesterday, the Fifth Ciruit Court of Appeals handed down an opinion affirming a decision from the Northern District of Texas to vacate an arbitral award where the single arbitrator failed to disclose that he had worked with one of the attorneys in the case on a large piece of patent litigation in the 1990s. The arbitrator and the attorney in question were two of thirty-four lawyers representing Intel in the prior case over the course of several y

Friday, December 9, 2005

By Rob Hargrove - December 9, 2005

The Texas Supreme Court issued two per curiam opinions this morning. The first invoked Rule 47.1 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and remanded a case back to the 11th Court of Appeals. The Court found that the Court of Appeals’ opinion “failed to identify and expressly consider modification and waiver as distinct issues associated with the relief the parties requested from the arbitrator” and remanded the case for furth

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

By Rob Hargrove - November 22, 2005

The Texas Supreme Court issued its latest school financing opinion today. Justice Hecht wrote for the majority while Justice Brister dissented. Technorati Tags: litigation, Texas Supreme Court, law

Friday, November 18, 2005

By Rob Hargrove - November 18, 2005

This morning, the Texas Supreme Court issued two opinions. One explains the application of the voluntary payment rule in Texas, and the other explains the procedure by which one can appeal a small claims court judgment in Texas. Both probably warrant additional discussion on this blog, but we probably will not be able to get to it today. However, I wanted to alert readers to the opinions, in the event that someone has a case pending in which the

Corporate Entities and Personal Jurisdiction

By Rob Hargrove - November 4, 2005

The Texas Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion this morning reversing the Fourteenth Court of Appeals and a trial court, both of which had previously denied a special appearance in a suit involving the alleged wrongful denial of insurance claims. The Court held that the district court could not properly exercise specific personal jurisdiction over Commonwealth General Corporation (“CNC”) just because CNC was the sole shareholder