Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog

Weil, Gotshal & Manges Guest-Post: Texas House Bill 1083

By Victoria VanBuren - June 26, 2009

On June 19, 2009, Texas House Bill 1083 was signed into law.The new provision, effective immediately, prevents courts from ordering mediation in cases subject to the Federal Arbitration Act (excepting cases where the parties have agreed otherwise).The bill, which passed both the House and the Senate without amendment, applies to all actions commencing on or after June 19th. What does this mean for future Texas cases involving the FAA?Fewer

U.S. Dispute Resolution Legislation: Update

By Victoria VanBuren - June 23, 2009

The One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress began on January 3, 2009 and will last till January 3, 2011. Following is a summary of some alternative dispute resolution bills currently being considered during this session. Click on the bill number for its text and on the status link to find the bill’s most recent legislative action. Stay tuned to Disputing for more legislative updates! The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 would ban mandat

National Arbitration Forum’s Response to NPR Arbitration Story

By Victoria VanBuren - June 17, 2009

In response to the National Public Radio (NPR) story blogged here, Forthright, the administrator for the National Arbitration Forum sent this letter to NPR (link to pdf here). In the letter, Forthright’s CEO addresses the issues of: consumer outcomes in arbitration, claims by former arbitrator Elizabeth Bartholet, and the benefits of arbitration. Thanks to Forthright for sending us the letter and allowing us to share it with our readers.

Employment and Consumer Arbitration: NPR Article

By Victoria VanBuren - June 10, 2009

Yesterday, NPR had an interesting article about the controversial issue of mandatory arbitration of claims between businesses and individuals (employees and consumers). First, the article discusses the unfortunate story of a young woman who was allegedly raped by several men while working in Iraq for Halliburton. At issue in her case ( Jones v. Halliburton ) is a motion to compel arbitration of her tort claims filed by Halliburton. The case remai

Texas Legislature Update: Alternative Dispute Resolution Bills

By Victoria VanBuren - June 6, 2009

As previously blogged, the 81st Regular Session of the Texas Legislature adjourned on June 1st. Following is a summary of some bills related to alternative dispute resolution filed during the session. Bills that passed: S.B. 1650, authored by Senator Duncan (R-Lubbock), would grant Texas appellate courts jurisdiction over certain interlocutory appeals arising under the FAA. Here are the bill’s history and analysis. H.B. 1083. The bill, auth

The Texas Legislature Adjourned

By Victoria VanBuren - June 4, 2009

Although the 81st Texas Legislature adjourned Monday night, some speculate that the Governor will call a special session to address legislation to keep five state agencies from shutting down: the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Department of Insurance, the Texas Racing Commission, the Texas State Affordable Housing Corp., and the Office of Public Insurance Counsel. As the dust settles, we will comment on the dispute resolution bills

Texas Legislature Update

By Victoria VanBuren - May 27, 2009

[update: H.B. 2139 passed the House and Senate (with amendments); the amended version was under consideration by the conference committee when the session ended. See here. ] Today, two bills related to ADR were passed by the 81st Texas Legislature: H.B. 1083. The bill, authored by Rep. Gary Elkins, states that “Except as provided by agreement of the parties, a court may not order mediation in an action that is subject to the Federal Arbitra

Texas Bar Journal Article: The Future of Arbitration

By Victoria VanBuren - May 13, 2009

Mark A. Shank and John L. Turner from Gruber Hurst, Johansen & Hail, LLP wrote a timely article about arbitration, published this month by the Texas Bar Journal. The authors do an excellent job at explaining the virtues of arbitration (speed, informality, and low cost) and at the same time, address the latest challenges to mandatory arbitration by legislation introduced in Congress and the Texas Legislature. If you missed the article, here is

George McGovern Opposes the Employee Free Choice Act

By Victoria VanBuren - May 8, 2009

Yesterday, former Democratic senator and presidential candidate George McGovern spoke out against the Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 (S. 560, status, previously blogged here): Last year, I wrote on these pages that I was opposed to this bill because it would eliminate secret ballots in union organizing elections. However, the bill has an additional feature that isn’t often mentioned but that is just as troublesome — compulsory arbit

U.S. Senate Introduces Its Own Version of the Arbitration Fairness Act

By Victoria VanBuren - May 7, 2009

Last week, the U.S. Senate introduced its own version of the “Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009” (H.R. 1020, status). The new bill ( S. 931, status), also titled “Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009,” is similar, but not identical to H.R. 1020. The Senate bill is discussed in detail by Philip J. Loree Jr. in The Senate Weighs in With Its Own Arbitration Fairness Act. Previous Coverage: Myths of Consumer Protection Law (May 4)