Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog » U.S. Supreme Court

GUEST-POST PART I | AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion and the Bright Side of the Force

By Victoria VanBuren - May 2, 2011

By James M. Gaitis Last week’s United States Supreme Court decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 2011 WL 1561956 (U.S., April 27, 2011) no doubt will provide arbitration law commentators with ample fodder to debate merits the Court’s opinion as pertains not only to class arbitration but, also, related questions concerning federal preemption under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and the “substantive federal law of ar

U.S. Supreme Court Decides AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion

By Beth Graham - April 27, 2011

In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled today that the the Federal Arbitration Act preempted California law with regard to class arbitration in AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, 09-893, (April 27, 2011). Check back for more information on the case soon. Disputing‘s previous blog posted after the Court heard oral argument in the case is available here. Technorati Tags: law, ADR, arbitration

U.S. Supreme Court Grants Cert in Arbitration Case, Denies Another

By Beth Graham - February 25, 2011

On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Stok & Associates PA v. Citibank NA, No. 10-514, a case on appeal from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The question presented in the case is: Under the Federal Arbitration Act, should a party be required to demonstrate prejudice after the opposing party waived its contractual right to arbitrate by participating in litigation, in order for such waiver to be binding and irrevo

Article | Are Arbitrators Above the Law? The ‘Manifest Disregard of the Law’ Standard

By Beth Graham - February 8, 2011

Michael H. LeRoy, Professor of Labor and Industrial Relations and Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, recently published a law review article entitled Are Arbitrators Above the Law? The ‘Manifest Disregard of the Law’ Standard, Boston College Law Review, Vol. 52, No. 1, p. 137, 2011; Illinois Program in Law, Behavior and Social Science Paper. In his article, Professor LeRoy examines the effect Hall Street Associates v. M

Article | Revelation and Reaction: The Struggle to Shape American Arbitration

By Beth Graham - January 28, 2011

Last week, Thomas J. Stipanowich, William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution and Professor of Law at Pepperdine School of Law, and Academic Director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, was the keynote speaker at Fordham Law School’s Fifth Annual Alternative Dispute Resolution Symposium. At the Symposium, Professor Stipanowich presented a paper entitled “Revelation and Reaction: The Struggle to Shape American Arbitration.” The pape

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

Law Review Article | I Could Have Been a Contender…

By Beth Graham - January 4, 2011

Nancy Welsh, Professor of Law at the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law recently authored “I Could Have Been a Contender: Summary Jury Trial As A Means to Overcome Iqbal’s Negative Effects Upon Pre-Litigation Communication, Negotiation and Early, Consensual Dispute Resolution,” 114 Penn St. L. Rev. Vol. 114:4, No. 1149, 2010. In her article, Professor Welsh argues that recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions may be underminin

2010 Arbitration Case Law: U.S. Supreme Court

By Beth Graham - December 30, 2010

Today, Disputing continues its 2010 Year-End Highlights. The U.S. Supreme Court decided several cases related to arbitration this year: On April 27, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds, 08-1198. The Court held that “Imposing class arbitration on parties who have not agreed to authorize class arbitration is inconsistent with the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U. S. C. §1 et seq.” On June 1, the Supreme

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

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