Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog » interlocutory appeal

New Arbitration Petition Before the U.S. Supreme Court

By Victoria VanBuren - June 21, 2010

[UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court decided Rent-a-Center v. Jackson today. Find a link to the opinion here. Commentary about the case to follow. Stay tuned.] A new arbitration-related petition has been filed recently before the U.S. Supreme The case comes from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. On December 17, 2009, the Fifth Circuit granted the motion to dismiss the case without any opinion. In Zurich American Insurance Company v. Pioneer

Texas Appellate Court Enforces Attorney-Client Arbitration Agreement

By Victoria VanBuren - March 11, 2010

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Texas held that a trial court abused its discretion in denying a motion to compel arbitration. I. Background In Pham v. Letney, no. 14-09-00387-CV (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] March 4, 2010) Shelly Letney hired the law firm of Smith & Garg, L.L.C. to pursue her personal injury claims she allegedly suffered in an automobile accident. Sarita Garg is a named partner in the firm and Steven Tuan Pham, an associ

Third COA Refuses to Compel Arbitration

By Rob Hargrove - August 23, 2007

Well, the Texas Appellate Law Blog scooped us on a Third Court of Appeals opinion handed down today in which the Court refuses to compel arbitration under either the TAA or the FAA. We will not simply recap what Mr. Smith has already posted on the subject, but we wanted to make a couple additional points about the interesting opinion. Really, the case is more about motion practice and Texas appellate practice than arbitrability issues. Judge Yele

Mandamus v. Interlocutory Appeal

By Rob Hargrove - March 31, 2007

Early this Saturday morning, Todd Smith at the outstanding Texas Appellate Law Blog posted about the strange quirk in the law whereby trial courts’ refusals to compel arbitration are immediately reviewable by mandamus if one statute applies (the Federal Arbitration Act or “FAA”) or by interlocutory appeal is another applies (the Texas Arbitration Act or “TAA”). Mr. Smith noted that the legislature could amend the int

Supreme Court Decides Six Cases Today

By Rob Hargrove - March 2, 2007

This morning, the Texas Supreme Court handed down opinions in six cases; none had anything to do with arbitration. In an opinion on interlocutory appeal of an order certifying a class, Citizens Ins. Co. of America, et al. v. Daccach, et al., the Court decertified a class and remanded the case to the trial court. The case is a potential class action involving alleged violations of the Texas Securities Act. Moki Mac River Expeditions v. Drugg invol

Hairstylists Get Another Day in Court

By Rob Hargrove - March 1, 2007

This morning, the Third Court of Appeals issued an opinion in a procedurally complex case stemming from a group of hairstylists’ claim in quantum meruit that Supercuts failed to pay them for work done “off the clock.” The case was originally filed as a breach of contract class action in 1993; this morning’s opinion marks the fourth time the Third Court has written on it. The opinion spends a large amount of time reciting t

More Texas Bloggers Discuss Arbitrability

By Rob Hargrove - February 14, 2007

Barry Barnett’s Blawgletter discussed a recent Second Circuit arbitrability opinion yesterday (Ross v. American Express). The opinion holds that Section 16 of the FAA, which allows interlocutory appeal of an order refusing to compel arbitration, applies in cases where the motion to compel arbitration was based not on a written agreement to arbitrate, but upon estoppel principles by which courts sometime compel non-signatories to arbitrate (

Sovereign Immunity Procedure

By Rob Hargrove - August 18, 2006

The Third Court of Appeals has released an opinion on an interlocutory appeal which clearly sets forth the rule that in enacting the Whistleblower Act the Texas Legislature waived immunity from both suit and liability, and that a governmental entity is not entitled as a matter of right to an evidentiary hearing on a plea to the jurisdiction on sovereign immunity grounds. First, some quick background. The Texas Supreme Court has held that sovereig