Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog

Alternative Dispute Resolution at the Department of Justice | Statistical Summary

By Victoria VanBuren - April 24, 2012

We recently stumbled across a Statistical Summary about the Use and Benefits of Alternative Dispute Resolution by the Justice Department. According with this data, the litigation or discovery expenses saved rose from $3 million in 2007 to $12 million in 2011. The data is based on case reports submitted by the lead trial counsel in all cases in which a private neutral conducted an ADR process in Department of Justice litigation across the country.

Update on Arbitration Provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act

By Victoria VanBuren - February 24, 2012

As readers may recall, on July 21, 2010 President Barack Obama signed into law the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (a.k.a. the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act”). House Versions: H.R. 4173 and Congressional Actions. The final version of P.L. 111-517 (H.R. 4173) is here. The Act, whose goal was to “promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in

NLRB Finds that Certain Arbitration Agreements Violate Federal Labor Law

By Victoria VanBuren - January 10, 2012

As the New York Times reports, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled on January 3, 2012 that employers could not prevent workers from filing work-related class actions. This ruling will effectively make certain employment agreements that require workers to pursue all claims individually via arbitration null and void. The decision on D. R. Horton, Inc. and Michael Cuda, Case 12–CA–25764 is here and the NLRB press release is here. Stay tu

SEC Commissioner Speaks on Mandatory Arbitration

By Victoria VanBuren - September 22, 2011

Via the Securities Law Prof Blog, we learned of SEC Commissioner’s Elisse B. Walter’s comments on mandatory securities arbitration at the 2011 annual NASAA Conference: Regardless of changes in the relationship between investors and the professionals to whom they turn for advice, disagreements will arise that need to be resolved quickly and fairly. Following the dictates of Dodd-Frank, the SEC intends to thoroughly review the mandatory arbitration

SEC Approves Revised Discovery Guide for FINRA Arbitrations

By Beth Graham - April 7, 2011

Via the ADR Prof Blog, we learned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a revised Discovery Guide applicable to FINRA securities arbitration customer cases on Friday. The proposed rule change was filed with the SEC on July 12, 2010 and published for comment in the Federal Register on August 3, 2010. The Commission received 55 comment letters on the proposed rule change. On February 8, 2011, the Commission received from FINRA

Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Regulations Proposed

By Beth Graham - April 4, 2011

by Holly Hayes Last week, The New York Times reported the Obama administration has proposed long-awaited Affordable Care Act (the Act) regulations “encouraging doctors and hospitals to band together, coordinate care and cut costs,” through the formation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). In return for this collaboration, the government is offering financial rewards to health care providers that meet detailed federal standards w

CalOHII Publishes Electronic HIE Demonstration Projects Regulations

By Holly Hayes - March 4, 2011

The California Office of Health Information Integrity (CalOHII) has published proposed regulations for its electronic health information exchange (HIE) demonstration projects. According to CalOHII’s Initial Statement of Reasons, such projects “will test policies and rules to better inform the State and health care stakeholders while the HIE infrastructure is being defined over the next several years. By allowing for various HIE demonstratio

HEALTH Act Addresses Medical Liability

By Holly Hayes - February 4, 2011

by Holly Hayes After voting to repeal national health reform law on January 19th, House Republicans introduced medical liability reform legislation that would cap damage awards. The Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Health Care (HEALTH) Act of 2011 “would limit noneconomic damages to $250,000, and punitive damages to the greater of $250,000 or twice the amount of economic damages. It would not preempt state laws that establish hi

Article | Should States Regulate the Mediation Profession?

By Beth Graham - February 3, 2011

Philip J. Loree Jr., a partner in the Manhasset, New York based firm of Loree & Loree and contributor to this blog, recently published an interesting article entitled Should States Regulate the Mediation Profession? The article was published in the Winter 2010-2011 edition of NE-ACR News, the newsletter of the New England Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution. In the article, Mr. Loree argues “proponents of state licensure

Article | The NLRA’s Legacy: Collective or Individual Dispute Resolution or Not?

By Beth Graham - January 11, 2011

Carrie Menkel-Meadow, A.B. Chettle, Jr. Professor of Dispute Resolution and Civil Procedure at Georgetown University Law Center and Chancellor’s Professor of Law at the University of California Irvine School of Law, recently published The NLRA’s Legacy: Collective or Individual Dispute Resolution or Not?, ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law, October 19 2010; UC Irvine School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2010-28. In her arti