In July 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals considered enforcement of an arbitration agreement contained in an attorney representation agreement, and in Barnett v. Am. Express Nat'l Bank, the court of appeals reiterated...more
Hello from the road! So contract law generally requires a party to manifest their assent to the terms of any agreement. That means while you cannot get away with saying “I didnt read the contract I signed” you generally can...more
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) are asking for comments on a proposed framework to oversee an independent dispute resolution service with binding authority for resolving investor complaints. The authority is...more
Ericsson finally sees resolution of its standard essential patent (“SEP”) campaign against Lenovo and Motorola, filed globally in multiple jurisdictions, importantly at the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”). In a...more
The proposed House v. NCAA settlement introduces a first-of-its-kind enforcement regime for college athlete compensation, shifting oversight from the NCAA to the power conferences. It establishes a 12-factor fair market value...more
As an attorney, you already know that litigation is expensive, time-consuming, and stressful for all involved. Fortunately, alternatives to traditional litigation exist which offer faster, more affordable, and less...more
Bilateral arbitration is under increasing attack. While businesses evaluate whether and how to update their arbitration clauses in light of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's October decision in Heckman v. Live...more
The war against arbitration agreements continues apace. The latest volley comes from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Johnson v. Continental Finance Company, LLC, No. 23-2047 (4th Cir. Mar. 11, 2025). In...more
In January 2021, Uber emailed millions of its users informing them that they would be prompted to agree to updated terms of use (available by hyperlinks) in order to continue using the ride-sharing service. The plaintiff, a...more
On 24 February, the UK Arbitration Act 2025 received Royal Assent. The new Act introduces a series of enhancements to the Arbitration Act 1996 following a review by the Law Commission. These changes aim to ensure the UK’s...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a district court’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration, finding that the parties’ arbitration clause expressed a clear intent to arbitrate and that the reference in...more
I have practiced law for 40 years with the vast majority as a “construction” lawyer. I have seen great… and bad… construction lawyering, both when representing a party and when serving over 300 times as a mediator or...more
Tell me if you have heard this one before: ten companies are sued by a former employee as “joint employers”, even though the employee technically worked for, and signed a binding arbitration agreement with, only one of them....more
The Fifth Circuit ruled that Baker Hughes Saudi Arabia and Dynamic Industries, Inc., could be compelled to arbitration in a forum that no longer exists. In doing so, the court ruled that the parties’ “dominant purpose was to...more
In Global Mining and Gerald Metals ("Claimants") v China National Gold Group ("Respondents") BVIHCM 2023/0070, the Respondents were unsuccessful in their applications to set aside the BVI Court's order for registration and...more
California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) allows “aggrieved employees” to sue their employers for Labor Code violations to collect civil penalties “on behalf of himself or herself and other current or former...more
It happens every so often: someone signs an agreement to arbitrate legal claims, the agreement has a solid clause delegating arbitrability issues to an arbitrator, and then a member of that person’s family files a claim in...more
Just before the 2024 holiday season, in Wu v. Uber Tech., Inc.,[i] New York State's Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, issued a veritable instruction manual for those involved in the online provision of consumer...more
California is famously inhospitable to arbitration. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down California laws disfavoring arbitration on no fewer than six occasions between 1987 and 2022....more
A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirming a decision compelling arbitration provides a “how to” guideline for using online terms and conditions to form a binding agreement....more
In an important decision regarding the size and potential scope of a putative class, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently granted a defendant’s motion to exclude from a class action all...more
While lawyers often advise owner and contractor clients to obtain the additional insured endorsements, the certificate of insurance (COI) remains the most common form of proof provided on many construction projects. But the...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a district court’s decision to deny a motion to compel arbitration in a case involving a request to refund the cost of airline tickets after a cancellation....more
I have practiced law for 40 years, with the vast majority of that time spent as a “construction lawyer.” I have seen great… and bad… construction lawyering, both when on the other side of a dispute, as well as when serving...more
The California Court of Appeals recently revisited the issue of the draconian deadline for paying arbitration fees established by California Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.97. In Suarez v. Superior Court of San Diego...more