Category Archives: Arbitration

Imre Szalai on Direct TV and Jedi Mind Tricks

Imre S. Szalai of Loyola New Orleans has written DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia: How the Supreme Court Used a Jedi Mind Trick To Turn Arbitration Law Upside Down, 32 Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 1, (2016 Forthcoming). Here's the abstract: The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) is the primary federal statute governing millions of arbitration […]

The New Yorker on the Impact of Scalia’s Death on Class Actions and Arbitration

Here. Excerpt: [M]any of the Roberts Court’s most important business cases were decided by a 5–4 margin, with the five conservative Justices voting as a bloc. And, as [Vanderbilt law professor Brian] Fitzpatrick points out, “Scalia has done more than any other justice in making it difficult for consumers and employees to bring class-action suits. […]

What Made Starbucks Change its Arbitration Clause?

by Jeff Sovern Gregory Gauthier has pointed out that Starbucks has changed its arbitration clause and wonders why. The old version is described here.  The new version is somewhat less onerous. For example, it permits the arbitration to be "held in a reasonably convenient location in the state in which you reside or at another mutually agreed […]

Bloomberg Story on CFPB’s Arbitration Rule-Making

Here (behind paywall, unfortunately).  Excerpt: When the CFPB may [issue its arbitration rule] is unknown. A spokesman told Bloomberg BNA that the bureau continues to gather information from stakeholders on the arbitration rulemaking. A final regulation is unlikely to take effect before late 2017 or 2018, Joe Olson, a partner and class action defense specialist with Michael […]

Drahozal Article on Confidentiality in Arbitration

Christopher R. Drahozal of Kansas has written Confidentiality in Consumer and Employment Arbitration, 7 Yearbook on Arbitration & Mediation ___ (forthcoming 2015). Here is the abstract: This article examines an apparent misperception among some commentators about the confidentiality of consumer and employment arbitration in the U.S. Arbitration is a private process—i.e., the public cannot attend […]