Part II.A: Section 2 Express Preemption – Textual Analysis by Philip J. Loree Jr. I. Introduction Part I of this series (here) was published the day before the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, No. 09-893 (blogged here, here, here and here). Now that the argument has taken place, and we have had a chance to review the transcript (here), and listen to the audio (here), it’s time to begin delvi

Continue reading...

The Dallas Court of Appeals has overturned a district court’s refusal to compel arbitration in two related attorney-client dispute cases. In BDO Seidman, LLP v. J.A. Green Development Corp., 05-09-01520-CV (Tex. App. – Dallas, Nov. 9, 2010) and Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, LLP v. J.A. Green Development Corp., 05-10-0008-CV (Tex. App. – Dallas Nov. 9, 2010), real estate development company Green sought tax advice from BDO Seidman and Sidley Aus

Continue reading...

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 09-893, a class-wide arbitration case from the 9th Circuit. AT&T concerns the applicability of state law unconscionability defenses to class arbitration exclusion clauses in consumer arbitration agreements. In the case, Vincent and Liza Concepcion sued AT&T in California over a charge of approximately $30 in connection with purchasing a ce

Continue reading...

The U. S. Supreme Court will hear AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 09-893, a class-wide arbitration case from the 9th Circuit, today. In the case, the Court is asked to consider whether the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts states from conditioning enforcement of an arbitration agreement on the availability of particular procedures when those procedures are not necessary to ensure that the parties to the arbitration agreement are able to

Continue reading...

by Philip J. Loree Jr. Part I: Introduction Virtually every year the United States Supreme Court’s docket features a number of politically-charged, controversial cases, plus some run-of-the-mill ones that do not inspire much in the way of intensive, ideological debate. Generally the Court’s arbitration-related cases fall into this latter category, though last term saw the Court decide 5-3 and 5-4 along ideological lines two politically controvers

Continue reading...

The Dallas Court of Appeals has held the mandatory notice requirements set forth in Section 74.451 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code rendered an arbitration provision unenforceable where the McCarran-Ferguson Act (MFA), 15 U.S.C. § 1012(b), preempted the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). In In re Sthran, No. 05-10-01176-CV (October 29, 2010), Etta Sthran (relator) sued Forest Lane Healthcare Center and THI of Texas at Forest Lane, LLC (F

Continue reading...

In Las Palmas Medical Center v. Moore, No. 08-09-00226-CV (October 6, 2010), the El Paso Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s decision to overturn an arbitration award and adopted a de novo standard of review for vacation, modification, or confirmation of an arbitration award. In 2004, the Las Palmas Medical Center (Las Palmas) recruited urologists Robert Moore and Deborah Moore to relocate from Houston to El Paso by offering the Moores a gu

Continue reading...

Mike Wolgin of the Miami office of Jorden Burt, LLP has compiled a list of recent cases which address “manifest disregard” of the law in an arbitral context. They include: Paul Green School of Rock Music Franchising, LLC v. Smith, No. 09-2718 (3d Cir., Aug 2, 2010), affirmed a district court’s confirmation of an arbitration award and held that the award did not constitute a “manifest disregard” of the law. The Third Circui

Continue reading...

A recent news story published in The AM Law Daily highlights an interesting arbitration case from the Second Circuit. The case involves a young attorney named Joshua Fensterstock who, after graduating with over $100,000 in student loans in 2003, consolidated his student loans in 2006 with Education Finance Partners (EFP), a student loan company serviced by Affiliated Computer Services (ACS). By August 2007, Fensterstock noticed that his loan bala

Continue reading...

Mark Trachtenberg and Christina Crozier from the Houston office of Haynes & Boone, L.L.P. recently published an interesting and useful article entitled “Arbitration-Related Litigation in Texas,” (29 Corporate Counsel Rev. 1 (2010)). The article discusses the effect of governing law on arbitration-related litigation, pre-arbitration litigation and post-arbitration litigation in the State of Texas. Here is an excerpt: Congress intended for arbi

Continue reading...