Last week, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Board approved a measure that may make it easier for investors to select arbitrators in a dispute against a securities brokerage. The newly approved measure would authorize the parties to a dispute that exceeds $100,000 to select a panel chairman, a public arbitrator, and an arbitrator with industry ties from a FINRA list immediately.

The Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas has ruled in an interlocutory appeal that a lower court committed error when it denied a company’s motion to compel arbitration. In Phytel, Inc. v. Smiley, No. 05-12-00607-CV, (Tex. App.–Dallas Apr. 5, 2013, no. pet. h.), James Smiley was a former Chief Executive Officer at Phytel, Inc.

According to the Appeals Court, Supreme Court precedent required the three-judge panel to interpret the Federal Arbitration Act in such a way that favors an agreement to arbitrate even in cases that involve federal statutory claims. This holding is especially significant because the burden of proof regarding the alleged pattern of discrimination would have reportedly shifted to Goldman Sachs if the court had held that Parisi was allowed to pursue a class action claim.

Part Three: Determining the Current Use of ARD by Fortune 1,000 Corporate Counsel.