Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: “Accidental Arbitration” -- A New Theory that Would Rein in Consumer Arbitration Clauses and the Scope of the FAA
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Discussion of Industry and Consumer Perspectives on Mass Arbitration
California Employment News: The State of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in California Employment
Podcast: California Employment News - The State of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in California Employment
#WorkforceWednesday: NLRB Focuses on Severance Agreements, Supreme Court Opens Overtime to HCEs, Ninth Circuit Rejects CA's Mandatory Arbitration Ban - Employment Law This Week®
#WorkforceWednesday: SCOTUS Rules on PAGA, Fifth Circuit Rules on COVID-19 Under WARN, Illinois Expands Bereavement Leave - Employment Law This Week®
California Employment News: US Supreme Court “Viking River” Decision Brings PAGA Relief for CA Employers
#WorkforceWednesday: EEOC COVID-19 Charges Surge, NYC’s Pay Transparency Law, SCOTUS Considers PAGA - Employment Law This Week®
#WorkforceWednesday: New Law on Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Claims, Cyber War Ramps Up, Salaried Nonexempt Status - Employment Law This Week®
Employment Law Now VI-114-Banning Arbitration of Sexual Harassment/Assault Claims
Update and Discussion on Legal and Practical Issues
DE Under 3: OFCCP Contractor Portal & Request for Comments for Functional Affirmative Action Programs (FAAPs)
Employment Law This Week®: FAA Arguably Preempts California Law, New CA Employment Laws for 2020, CA Consumer Privacy Act Amended
“Manifest disregard of the law” is no longer a valid basis to challenge arbitration awards, at least not in the federal courts of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Rather, according to the Fifth Circuit’s decision in U.S....more
The Texas Legislature follows a unique legislative calendar and convenes in regular session for 140 days only once every other year. This unusual schedule creates a flurry of new state laws every other year in Texas. These...more
When entering into construction contracts, the question of which state’s laws will govern is a pivotal consideration. Choice of law has real-world implications for how construction disputes are resolved. Different states have...more
How final is a final arbitration award? In Escapes! To the Shores Condominium Association, Inc., et al. v. Hoar Construction, LLC, and Architectural Surfaces, Inc., the plaintiff condo association argued that an arbitration...more
Most sports fans are familiar with the concept of home field advantage — the idea that the home team gains an advantage over the visiting team because it is playing in familiar facilities, does not have to travel long...more
Taylor Morrison of Tex. Inc. v. Caballero, No. 01-20-00800-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 1870, 2022 WL 839429 (Mar. 22, 2022) - Gary and Kelley Caballero contracted to purchase a new home to be constructed by Taylor Woodrow...more
A recent opinion from the Court of Appeals of Georgia illustrates that contracts entered into with an unlicensed contractor, which are often unenforceable by an unlicensed contractor under many states’ laws, likely will not...more
Whether an arbitration agreement is enforceable is a frequently litigated matter in construction disputes. Federal policy strongly favors arbitration. Typically, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) will preempt any contrary...more
The American Institute of Architects (“AIA”) produces form contract documents widely used in the construction industry. Because of the prevalence of AIA contracts, many parties consider them to be standard and may not fully...more
In the words of Judge Milan D. Smith, Jr. of the Ninth Circuit, “[w]e have become an arbitration nation.” Nonetheless, arbitration is a creature of contract, and there are limits to what an arbitrator may do. In Aspic...more
Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC v. Converteam SAS, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 24671 (11th Cir. Aug. 30, 2018) - On August 30, 2018, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision to compel arbitration between...more
Contrary to what many construction contractors and owners may believe, construction arbitration often involves substantial document production. This may include production of documents from third parties not directly...more
Sachse Constr. & Dev. Corp. v. Affirmed Drywall, Corp., 2018 Fla App. Lexis 9998 (July 18, 2018) - Sachse Construction, a Michigan-based general contractor, entered into a subcontract (the “Subcontract”) with Affirmed...more
It's an unfortunate fact that many construction projects end in disputes, driving the parties into some form of dispute resolution. Many of these construction disputes are resolved through arbitration, which is a process...more
To protect contractors and subcontractors working on North Carolina construction projects, state law prohibits the enforcement of any agreement subjecting the parties exclusively to the laws of another state or making the...more
“Arbitration has been proven to be an effective way to resolve disputes fairly, privately, promptly and economically.” So provides the preamble to the Construction Industry Rules of the American Arbitration Association. ...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that an order compelling arbitration and staying a related action was not an appealable “final decision with respect to arbitration” under the Federal Arbitration Act...more
A federal court has rejected the attempt of the losing party in an arbitration to engage in discovery regarding the potential bias of the arbitrator, finding that it had no jurisdiction over the matter because it did not...more
Bell Prods. v. Hosp. Bldg. & Equip. Co., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9183 (ND of Cal. Jan. 23, 2017) - A Contractor, Hospital Building and Equipment Company (“HBE”) entered into a subcontract with a mechanical subcontractor,...more
January was a busy month for independent contractor misclassification – and IC compliance. In addition to Lowe’s $2.85 million settlement with installers whom it classified as ICs, Lufthansa agreed to pay $1.1 million in...more
Choice Hotels filed an application to confirm an arbitration award of over $247,000 for the alleged breach of a franchise agreement by two defendants, which failed to timely commence construction of a hotel. The defendants...more
Ever wonder about a superfast arbitration procedure in a contract that you have been given? An arbitration clause requiring an arbitration panel to issue a decision within 30 days of being selected for the panel was recently...more
On October 24, 2016, a federal judge enjoined the U.S. government from enforcing certain provisions of the controversial Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule. The decision was handed down from Judge Marcia Crone in the U.S....more
Owners who are dissatisfied with their contractors’ performance increasingly assert fraud-based claims in addition to breach of contract claims because fraud-based claims are not typically barred by contractual waivers and...more
Arbitration has become a very common and effective way to resolve construction disputes in lieu of traditional litigation, and it is easy to understand why: - The parties can select arbitrators with construction...more