Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog

Texas Supreme Court Hears Case on Standards of Judicial Review for Arbitration Awards After Hall Street

By Victoria VanBuren - October 8, 2009

As reported by the Texas Supreme Court Blog (thanks for the cite!) the Texas Supreme Court heard arguments today on the case NAFTA Traders, Inc. v. Margaret A. Quinn; from Dallas County; 5th district (05?07?00340?CV, 257 SW3d 795, 06?17?08). NAFTA Traders appeals the confirmation of an arbitral award in favor of Margaret Quinn in a sexual discrimination case under the Texas General Arbitration Act (TAA). The Dallas Court of Appeals relying on the

Jones v. Halliburton: Fifth Circuit Rules on Arbitration of Tort Claims by an Employee

By Victoria VanBuren - September 18, 2009

[Ed. note: see our previous posts about this case here and here.] The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that claims for (1) assault and battery; (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (3) negligent hiring, retention and supervision of employees involved in a sexual assault; and (4) false imprisonment are not related to the plaintiff’s employment contract and refused to compel arbitration. I. Background In

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

Legislature Considering Limitations on Consumer Arbitration

By Rob Hargrove - March 20, 2007

We recently blogged with Rick Freeman about the important distinctions between consumer (“take it or leave it”) arbitration agreements and agreements to arbitrate between sophisticated commercial parties. We’ve just skimmed HB 3091 (link is to .pdf file), which if passed would severely restrict or outlaw the widespread use of arbitration agreements in consumer contracts in Texas. We will, of course, keep our eye on this. However

Arbitrability of Wrongful Death Cases

By Rob Hargrove - February 1, 2007

Well, the Florida arbitration blog has another interesting post today. It concerns a Missouri case where a court refused to compel arbitration of a wrongful death case against a nursing home. According to that case, since the Missouri wrongful death statute creates a new cause of action in favor of the decedent’s statutory beneficiaries, and it is not a cause of action that the decedent could have had prior to his/her death, the statutory b

Fifth Circuit Upholds Punitive Damages Award

By Rob Hargrove - February 9, 2006

In an opinion (link is to .pdf file) filed Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a trial court decision to confirm an arbitral award which contained a punitive damages award for the arbitral plaintiff. The case involved a woman’s breach of fiduciary duty claims against the managers of an investment portfolio she received as part of a divorce settlement. The arbitral panel found that the investment company did in fact breach its duty to the

Non-signatories and arbitration of personal injury claims

By Rob Hargrove - October 31, 2005

On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court handed down an opinion granting Petition for Writ of Mandamus compelling a non-signatory to an arbitration clause to arbitrate personal injury claims the Court itself admits do not stem from the contract which contains the arbitration clause. The plaintiff in the underlying case asserted personal injury claims against a home builder, claiming that she developed asthma from the dust created by the home builder