Today, Disputing continues its 2010 Year-End Highlights. The U.S. Supreme Court decided several cases related to arbitration this year: On April 27, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds, 08-1198. The Court held that “Imposing class arbitration on parties who have not agreed to authorize class arbitration is inconsistent with the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U. S. C. §1 et seq.” On June 1, the Supreme

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On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London v. Lagstein, 10-534. The case sought to address whether a “manifest disregard of the law” standard of review for arbitration awards remains after the Court’s decision in Hall Street Associates, L.L.C v. Mattell, Inc., 552 U.S. 576 (2008). In the case, Lagstein, a medical doctor, filed a claim for disability benefits under a policy he p

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Part II.B: Section 2 Express Preemption – Purposive Analysis by Philip J. Loree Jr. I. Introduction In Part II.A, we considered a textual construction of Section 2’s savings clause and concluded that it supports AT&T Mobility’s position. This Part II.B examines the savings clause from a purposive interpretation and construction standpoint. For the sake of convenience, the term “purposive” or “purposivism” is used here as a convenient way to d

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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

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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

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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

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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

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A forthcoming article entitled “The Litigation-Arbitration Dichotomy Meets the Class Action” by Vanderbilt Law Professor and Director of the Cecil D. Branstetter Litigation & Dispute Resolution Program Richard A. Nagareda makes some interesting and compelling arguments related to AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, 09-893, a case set for argument before the U.S. Supreme Court on November 9th. The article examines two cases from

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On October 12, 2010, the United States Supreme Court issued orders in Montana v. Wyoming (No. 137, Original). The original jurisdiction water rights case was filed before the Court in early 2007 and subsequently transferred to a Special Master prior to the Court’s review. The October 12th orders resulted from Montana’s objections to an interim report issued by the Special Master in February. First, the Court ordered oral argument regarding whethe

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The U.S. Supreme Court term is in full swing. Class-wide arbitration agreements have been a hot topic in the courts recently and the trend is continuing with the high court this fall. ADR news to note: Scheduled for November 9, 2010 Oral Argument AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 09-893: A class-wide arbitration case from the 9th Circuit asking the Court to consider whether the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts states from conditioning en

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